Happy Beginning
by Love Reading 3.14
Summary: A fanfic about Yuno & Yuki's relationship after their reunion. Full of love and joy. But also with trouble. (Eventual lemons)
1. Chapter 1: Making a New World?

**This story is mostly going to be about Yuno & Yuki's relationship and not much else. I'll try to keep it interesting. **

**It starts at the after-show special in episode 26, when Yuki and Yuno are sitting together with the plant between them.**

Chapter 1: Making a Second World?

Yuno watched Yukki as he concentrated. He looked so cute when he focused, it took a lot of effort not to go over to him. Although, it was great to just be with him, and he needed to focus. She mimicked his pose, although she wasn't actually doing anything, it made her feel closer to him.

"There, done." Yukiteru opened his eyes and looked over at Yuno. "I think that'll be a good start for our new world."

The plant encased between them may not have looked like much, but it was the seed of the new second world. Eventually, it would bloom and fill the void with life, a new Earth, and new stars.

"How much longer do you think it'll take Yukki?" Yuno glanced at the plant, she thought it was a bit unimpressive. If it had taken Yukki hours to make this, how much longer would they have to wait before they'd be able to spend time together again on Earth?

Yukiteru looked at his creation, "I'm not sure really, but I'm sure it won't be that much longer." He shifted his gaze toward Murmur. "What do you think Murmur?"

Murmur had been oddly quiet. At first, she'd been excited that Yuki had finally started to do something, but she'd stayed silent for the past few hours. Yukiteru had assumed that she'd been focusing on helping him so he could make the new world as quickly as possible, but now it was obvious that she was extremely upset.

Murmur gave an immediate answer, "You'll never finish, you idiot!"

Yuki moved back a bit, surprised by her hostility. "What? Why?"

"Because you spent too much time doing nothing with your god powers! You'll die before you finish!"

Yuno sat up immediately, her expression wild. "What do you mean?! YUKKI CAN'T DIE!"

"I don't understand Murmur, why would I die?" At the same time, Yuki moved over to try and comfort Yuno.

Murmur glared at him, arms crossed. "Gods aren't immortal or all-powerful, you should know that. Deus's powers declined as the game went on, and as he spent more of it he hastened his death. You spent thousands of years doing nothing but mope, so you didn't use that much, only what you needed to keep both of us alive." As Murmur spoke, she calmed down. Replacing her angry expression with a sad one. "And in the meantime the world decayed. Even with a god, if it's unattended, the world turns into this."

"You have to make an entire new world now! Do you think that it won't take an unimaginable amount of energy? You won't have enough left over for us to see it come to fruition." She began tearing up. "Why'd you have to be so stubborn?! You refused to even think about taking care of the world or making a new one after you let it rot!"

Yuki replied, confused, "But wait, you were still telling me to make another world a few hours ago before Yuno arrived. Are you telling me I had enough energy then, but not now?"

Murmur shook her head. "It's not that simple. Honestly, in terms of total energy, you do still have enough to remake the world-

"Then what's the problem?!" Yuno yelled at her. "Why are you saying that Yuki's going to die?"

"Maintaining a world produces a major strain, Deus himself had to work constantly to fine-tune it. But the strain from making one from scratch is enormous. Not only does Yukiteriu have to undergo that strain, he also has to keep the both of us alive. This is a void, he has to make air for the two of us to breathe and talk in. You'll need food and water, that he'll make. I can't exist independently from him, so he uses some to keep me alive. It would have been close, even if he'd started the last time I nagged him about it. But I think he would have been able to live for a few more decades after he finished."

"No, no, I won't let him die! I can leave. I'll just live in my world and come back when Yukki's done." Yuno held him tightly. "You can't die."

Murmur answered immediately, "It won't be enough."

Yuno thought furiously. How could she help Yukki live? Why didn't Murmur tell them earlier? Why didn't Murmur convince Yukki before she'd arrived? It was all Murmur's fault! And then it came to her, of course! The solution was so simple!

Yuno unwrapped herself from Yukki and turned toward Murmur with a disconcerting smile. "You said that you need energy from Yukki to live. Well then, all you need to do is die and stop stealing from him!" She jumped toward Murmur, ready to strangle her. Murmur didn't matter, just like before, all that mattered was for Yuno and Yukki to be together.

Murmur quickly flew away. "Don't even try it! If you plan on killing me and staying in the third world until he finishes, it'll backfire. I'm not some sort of parasite that just takes from him! I wouldn't do that to him, I love him! Not like you do, but as a friend. He needs me to help keep him alive too. He won't be able to focus on keeping himself intact and making a world at the same time. So while he concentrates on making a world, I concentrate on balancing the enormous forces in him."

Yuno started to leap after her again "You're lying! You just want to keep on living, you selfish little-

Yukiteru grabbed her arm, shaking his head. "Murmur isn't lying, I could tell she was helping me while I was building the foundation for our new world."

"Fine then! It'll be fine Yukki, I promised you I'd always protect you. There has to be a way!"  
Yuki kissed her. He'd been out of practice, but he tried his best to show his love for her. When he pulled back, he looked peaceful and happy. "It's alright, I've lived long enough. I'll make a world for you and make you happy."

Yuno had tears in her eyes, she was barely able to speak "I can't let you die Yukki. I don't need a world, I need you. You don't need to make another world, I'll be happy just to be with you." Yet as she looked at him, she realized she wasn't getting through to him.

"No, I won't have you live in this void and it's not fair for Murmur to either. Go back to the third world, find . . ." Yuki had to force the next words out. "Find someone better than me who'll make you happy. I'm a horrible person, this is what I deserve, I used you to survive and forced Murmur to deal with millennia of my moping. You and Murmur will both be happier this way."

Murmur spoke, "Yuki-kun, you still won't have enough energy to finish your world."

Yuki smiled at that, "The first world's Murmur was able to maintain the second world by using Deus's core when he died. You were his servant, you survived his death thanks to his active core. You should be able to do something like that with my core when I die, right?"

"You don't have to do this Yukiteru," Murmur said.

"I know that, but this way both you and Yuno will both be happy."

"I'm very grateful for this Yukiteru." Murmur said, with tears in her eyes.

Yuno was crying as well. "This won't make me happy Yukki! Don't do this! No one can replace you, I'll only love you, Yukki."

This wasn't easy for Yuki, but he had to say it "You said it yourself Yuno, you only needed someone to be dependent on. That's not a healthy relationship. I love you, and it'll be better for you to find someone who wouldn't use you like I did."

"No, Yukki! That was a lie, I only said it to try and convince you to stay in the dream world!" Yuno had already known that what she had said then was true, but it was irrelevant. They loved each other now, she wasn't insane like before. Why was Yukki doing this? Why should he care about Murmur? Was Murmur manipulating him? Paranoid thoughts ran through her head as she tried to convince Yukki.

"What about our promise to see the stars? Or your promise that I could be your bride?"

Yuki answered, "Please Yuno, forget about that. If you want, I'll erase those memories and take away any pain you'd feel."

"NO! I won't let you! My life was empty without you. I need you."

"I'm sorry Yuno, but you'll be happier this way."

 **Well, that went rather differently than planned, but I like it, although there was more improvisation than I'm comfortable with. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I plan on posting often, so the second chapter will probably be up in a few days.**

 **Those of you who know the manga ending may know where this is going! But if you don't know it, I don't think you should try to find out because it might ruin any suspense my cliffhanger has. Then what would I use to keep you guys reading? Good writing? I'm a bit short on that.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2: Living On

Ch. 2: Living On

Yuki was sitting, concentrating on expanding the new world. Yuno hated it, it was killing him. No, it was Murmur's fault, she was sucking the life out of Yuki, slowly killing him. How could Yuno stop her? Killing her wouldn't work, and Yuki was adamant about making a new world.

Yuno had pleaded and cried for Yuki to stop, but no matter what she'd said or done it hadn't been enough to convince him. He was too kind; he'd always been this way. His kindness had often hindered her in the survival game. Yet she couldn't bring herself to resent it, it was one of the things she loved the most about him. She stared at him hopelessly, unwilling to break his concentration on the world, realizing that he was already conserving as much of his power as he could. If she interfered, she might make him lose focus and use more energy, bringing his death closer.

The plant had grown enormously in the past few hours. Now it was as big as one of the sequoia trees Yuno had once read about. It was rather beautiful. If she focused, she could feel the power Yuki was pouring into it and see it shining slightly. She thought about the importance of trees in many cultures, they were considered central to life. This one, though, was bringing death. Yuki's death.

"That's enough for now Yuki-kun." Murmur spoke. "You're starting to lose focus."

It was obvious that Yuki was tired. He was a bit pale and sweating slightly. "No, it's alright. I can keep going."

"No you can't Yukiteru," replied Murmur. "You're starting to make mistakes. It'll take more energy to go back and fix them than just doing it right the first time."

"Alright."

Yuki went over to Yuno. He hated that he was making her unhappy, but this was for the best. That was what he told himself as he saw her face. "I love you Yuno."

Yuno whispered back to him. "If you love me, then why are you doing this?"

"You know why Yuno, this way everyone will be happy."

"I won't be! Why would you think your death would make me happy?" She wrapped her arms around him tightly, as if doing so would somehow keep him alive. Incredibly softly she said, "I love you."

Yuki hugged her back "I love you too, Yuno. I know it'll hurt at first, but you can still erase your memories, and you'll be free to live your own life with someone else."

She pushed him away, suddenly angry. "I don't want to lose my memories of you. I can't go back to feeling empty inside without knowing why! I'm not here against my will, I don't need to be freed! I want to live happily with you, not anyone else."

"Yuno . . ."

"Stop it Yuki, I can't watch you kill yourself. You've given up! Don't you want to at least try and find another way?"

"It's not fair for me to have you and Murmur live in this void. This is the only way."

"It's not the only way!" Yuno ran from him, going back to the third world, her world. Deus was still alive, she had to ask him to help Yuki, persuade him to give Yuki some of his power.

Yuki chased after her, "Wait, Yuno! Please, don't leave yet! I need you too!"

"Don't worry Yuki. I'll come back and save you. Deus will be able to help." This was the last hope that Yuno had, this was the only way she could save him. Before going through the opening, she smiled and yelled back. "I love you Yuki!"

* * *

She was back in the Akashic Records. Where she had regained her memories.

"Yuno? What are you doing here?" The first world's Murmur asked, surprised. "Why aren't you with the First in the second world?"

"Quickly, tell me where Deus is!"

Murmur smiled. She recognized that expression, it meant that Yuki was in trouble. And that Yuno would do anything, kill anyone, without mercy to help him. "Deus is in the Cathedral of Causality. Here, I'll bring you to him."

She grabbed Yuno and flew to the Cathedral, slowly enough to ask a few questions, but quickly enough that she wouldn't get harassed by Yuno.

"So, what's wrong with the First?"

Yuno's eyelids turned into slits, suspicious. "How did you know something was wrong with Yuki?"  
"Don't forget that I received the same memories that you did, it's obvious that you're worried for him right now." Murmur replied. "Ah, here we are."

IDeus was sitting in his throne. Looking at images of the other Diary owners, or rather, those who would have been. In one of them was the third world's Yuki. Seeing it just worried Yuno more, further reminding her of her Yuki, the one who would die unless she found a way to help him.

Deus noticed Yuno and the first world's Murmur arrive. "Oh, what do we have here? Has your relationship with Amano Yukiteru crumbled?"

Yuno ignored his question. Desperately she asked, "Deus, you have to give Yuki your power! You're going to die soon anyway, so it won't make any difference if you give some of your power to him, right?"

"That is not true. I still need to select a god for this world. The Ninth has refused the responsibility, so I must choose one of the eleven remaining Diary owners. I will not give Yukiteru any of my power until then, and it is very likely that I will not have any left at that point."

"But you have to! Yuki's going to die if you don't!" Yuno was truly desperate. What could she do? Threatening Deus wouldn't work, and her only hope was starting to disappear.

"Hmmm, I have an interesting idea." Deus bent so his face was level with Yuno's. "I would like you and Yukiteru to become gods of this world. Do you accept?"

"Of course!" Yuno was so relieved, it would all be okay now. Yuki could live! They could leave the second world and live here, together as gods. The second world's Murmur would have a world to live in and everyone would be happy. Her future with him was saved.

"Bring Amano Yukiteru here, and do so quickly." Deus removed all the screens with a swipe of his hand. Then he started fine-tuning the world for the creation of two new gods and his impending death.

Yuno and the first world's Murmur returned to the opening to the second world. Yuno felt like the smile on her face would never leave, she was giddy with joy, imagining her future with Yuki. Seeing the stars, going on dates, getting married. She blushed when she thought of what they would do on their wedding night. She couldn't wait to give him the good news!

 **A shorter chapter. Get used to this pace, if anyone is reading out there. I'll crank them out every few days. Although, I will run out of ideas eventually, and I don't want to end this fanfic too quickly. Hopefully, you guys will be able to help me out with that.**

 **Hope you enjoyed reading and may the YukixYuno ship sail smoothly.**


	3. Chapter 3: Let's Go See the Stars!

Chapter 3: Let's Go See the Stars!

"Yukki!" Yuno had returned to the second world. Eager to give Yukki the good news. She ran to him, "You can come to the third world Yukki! You and I can live there as gods!"

"What, really? What about Deus?"

"Deus said he'll let us both be gods when he dies. We'll be together forever. You don't have to die here!" Yuno's face lit up as she spoke.

Yuki smiled at her, surprised by the simple but elegant solution. How had she managed to convince Deus? "You're amazing Yuno."

She blushed beet red at that and looked at the ground, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. "Well . . . it was nothing. I just . . . you know." And she continued muttering faint modest words.

"That means that I'll have a world to play in, right?" The second world's Murmur had overheard. "Quickly, let's go! I'm bored of this world!"

"Alright, alright," Yuki laughed a bit at her enthusiasm. "What about this world?" He looked over to it. He truly had put some effort into it, before Yuno had returned, it had started to grow on its own a bit with only small amounts of energy from Yukiteru. Now it was truly enormous, dwarfing the three.

"Just leave it. It'll collapse on its own without you, now come on!" Murmur led the way to the opening.

"Come on Yuno, let's go." Yukki grabbed her hand.

She was so happy; they were really starting their future together. They left the second world, and entered the Cathedral.

"Is this is the right telescope Yukki?" Yuno pointed at one of telescopes in the aisle.

Yuki leaned over and examined it, "Yeah, that's it." He picked it up and went over the counter. "Come on Yuno, let's pay for it."

In the late afternoon, Yuno and Yukiteru were ready for their trip. The telescope had been the only thing they'd still needed. Yuno had prepared Yukki's favorite food and some special snacks. They had the train tickets to the perfect location for stargazing.

At the moment, they were holding hands as they walked to the train station.

"It's almost as if we've done this before isn't it?" joked Yuki. Obviously referencing the trip they'd taken in the second world.

Yuno kissed him. He responded eagerly. With a playful smile she said, "You've gotten better at kissing again Yuki." They continued kissing, receiving some stares from people in the street. Some smiling knowingly, others disapproved of such a public display of affection.

Yuki pulled back, "We better hurry, or we'll be late."

The couple made their way to the station and boarded their train. It was mostly empty, so they chose seats close to the windows to get a better view.

"It's a good thing that the weather's clear today." Yuki glanced outside. It truly was perfect for stargazing, clear blue sky with no clouds. The evening Sun approaching the horizon.

Yuno also took a look. "Even if it wasn't, couldn't we have changed the weather if we wanted to?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

After they sat in silence for a few moments, Yuno said something. "Oh, Yukki, I was going to save these for later, but I think it'd be best if we had them now." Yuno opened her bag and looked inside. When she found the container she'd been looking for, she opened it up.

Yukiteru looked inside. "Strawberries? Covered in chocolate? When did you get these?"

Yuno took one of them, "I made them as soon as we came back. I already had strawberries, and it was simple to melt some chocolate and dip some strawberries in them." Then she held them up to Yuki, "Say, 'ahhh.'"

Yuki pretended to look suspiciously at them, "You didn't put anything strange in them, did you?" Thinking of when she'd drugged his drink. He knew that she wouldn't do that again, he completely trusted her.

But Yuno hadn't realized that, she answered with a hurt expression. "Of course not, don't you trust me Yukki?"

Seeing how distressed she was Yuki quickly and moved to comfort her. "Of course I do Yuno. It was only a joke!" He laughed a bit, "I guess it bad. Ahhh." He opened his mouth so she could feed him.

Reassured, Yuno fed him a few strawberries. As she was about to feed him another one, he stopped her.

"Hold on a second, Yuno. Give me that."

"Yukki?" She was a bit confused but handed it over to him.

He held it, "Now it's your turn. Say Ahh."

Blushing, Yuno opened her mouth. She enjoyed feeding him, but she hadn't expected this reaction to Yukki feeding _her_. Her heart beat faster, and for some reason she felt a bit embarrassed, yet she enjoyed it immensely. She calmed down a bit as Yukki continued feeding her.

After they'd finished the strawberries. They continued their ride, talking at times or just enjoying each other's presence in silence. Eventually, they made their way to the park they wanted to visit.

The park was practically in the middle of nowhere, which was good for stargazers because there wouldn't be any light pollution from nearby towns to obscure the sky. It was a beautiful spot, visited by many people besides stargazers. It was a great location for hiking and there were clean ponds for swimming. Right now, with the recently set Sun, the area was illuminated by beautiful red light. On one of the highest hills, a common spot for other stargazers, stood the couple. They'd already laid out a picnic blanket and were preparing the telescope and tripod.

Yuki looked at the sunset, it was stunning. But to him, the sight couldn't compare with Yuno right beside him. He loved her so much, and he'd missed her for so long. He saw that she'd just finished setting up.

"All done Yukki!" Yuno turned from the telescope to face him. As she did, he gave her a passionate kiss.

He pulled back, "I love you, Yuno."

"What was that for Yukki?" Yuno was flustered, surprised by Yukki's fervent kiss.

"Do I need a reason?" Yuki smiled back at her. "You're so cute."

Yuno's heart was beating like a drum. Then she saw them. "Oh, Yukki, look! The stars are starting to come out!" She pointed to a particular pair of stars to the northeast.

"Tanabata is soon isn't it? Those are Orihime and Hikoboshi." Every year in Japan, during the Evening of the Seventh, also known as the Star Festival, the Japanese people celebrated the reunion of the two mythical lovers. Yuki saw the parallel between them and Yuno and him. "Kind of like us, don't you think?"

"Not too much like us, luckily." Yuno replied. "They're separated lovers but they're only allowed to meet once a year. We'll be together forever though, won't we Yukki?"

"Yes, Yuno." Yuki moved over to the telescope, he fiddled around for a bit with the focus and found what he was looking for. "Ah, there it is. Come here, Yuno. I want you to see this."

Yuno moved over and stared through it, "Wow." She stayed silent for a bit. "It's beautiful Yukki, what is it?"

"It's the Ring Nebula. There's gas surrounding a star that will eventually form planets," said Yuki. "And come here, see that big cloud that separates the lovers? That's the Milky Way Galaxy."

They continued looking for interesting objects. Discovering star clusters, other nebulas, and other galaxies. It was truly amazing how vast and beautiful the universe was. Sometimes they'd spend minutes trying to find a particular object through the telescope. It would take some effort, and repeated checking of the star chart they'd brought, using a red flashlight because it helped keep their eyes adapted to the dark. True, finding some obscure objects wasn't easy, but that was part of the wonderful experience.

At other times they'd lay on the blanket, holding hands for what seemed like hours. Watching the stars turn in the sky, finding constellations and making up some of their own. Yuki had even found a group of stars that vaguely resembled a Future Diary. It had become a night that neither of them would forget. Looking at the stars on a moonless night, wearing light clothes in the slightly cool night summer air, part of the beginning to their new, life-long relationship.

"We should find a place to stay for the night, Yukki." Yuno said. "We've been here for a while." She quickly checked her phone, "It's already past midnight."

Yukiteru got up from the blanket, "Alright, I think there's a hotel nearby where we can stay."

They packed up and left the park. According to a nearby map, the road they wanted was less than a mile from here. They quickly found it and went to the hotel.

As they arrived, oddly enough there was someone at the front desk at this late hour. There was a woman reading a book. She saw the two enter and eyed their bag.

"More stargazers, huh? So many of you come here. Luckily for you two I have plenty of rooms available. How long do you two plan on staying?"

Yuki answered, "Only for a night."

"Okay," she took one of the keys from the rack at her side. "Here, go to room 205, it has two twin beds-

Yuki interrupted, "Actually, we'd like a room with one bed." He turned to Yuno. "That's okay with you, right Yuno?"

Yuno blushed, "It's alright."

The woman at the desk was trying to hold back her smile, and wasn't succeeding. "Ah, I understand. Here then, room 110 all the way at the end of the hall." At this point she gave up holding back, "It has the best soundproofing in the building."

Both Yuki and Yuno blushed at that. They quickly paid her and made their way to their room while the owner of the building quietly laughed at their embarrassment. They unpacked and Yuno took a shower and changed her clothes. Yuki showered after her, and changed as well.

She stood next to Yukki "So, um, Yukki. How do you want to . . . do this?"

"It's been a while, hasn't it Yuno?"

Yuno stared at the ground "I have the memories, Yukki, but I've never actually . . . done it."

For a while, neither of them were willing to make a move. Then Yukiteru decided to take the initiative.

He went into the bed, pulling Yuno with him.

She pulled away "Wait Yukki. Turn around, I have a surprise for you."

As Yukki did, Yuno started to undress. "No peeking, Yukki." As she finished, she moved onto the bed with him. "Okay, you can look now."

Yuki opened his eyes. She was wearing lingerie, pink the same shade as her hair. He shifted a bit as he started to harden.

"Do . . . do you like it, Yukki?" she asked shyly.

"You look beautiful, Yuno." A thought just occurred to him. "Wait, how did you know to bring that?"

"I brought it just in case." Yuno said. "I really hoped you'd want to . . . you know." She looked at him expectantly and joked, "Am I the only one who's going to undress? It's your turn now!" She jumped onto him, eagerly taking off his clothes. Yukki smiled and laughed a bit at her enthusiasm, then he started to help out, removing his pants.

Soon, he was down to his underwear. With Yuno being too shy to take them off of him, Yukki did so himself.

Yuno blushed and her eyes widened at the sight. "Wow."

"What is it, Yuno?"

"It's just, I don't remember getting a good look at it the last time. You look bigger than you felt."

Now Yuki was the one embarrassed, "Oh." He moved closer to her, kissing her. As they kissed, they slowly fell back onto the bed. Yukiteru laying with his back on the mattress and Yuno laying on his chest.

After they ended the kiss, they were both breathing a little heavily. Yuno grabbed his hands and moved them to her back. "I know you like my chest, Yukki. Here, take my bra off."

Yuki fumbled a bit but managed to unhook it. Her breasts sagged lightly, and he tentatively put his hands on them. Meanwhile, Yuno pulled off the last remaining piece of her clothing.

"Okay, Yukki. I'm ready."

Yukki laid back on the bed and positioned himself so Yuno was straddling his hips.

"Yukki?"

"I was on top last time right? It's only fair that you get your turn. And I think it'll be an interesting experience."

"Okay, Yukki." She tenderly grabbed his hard organ and positioned herself over it. She slowly eased herself onto it.

Yuki suddenly let out a huge moan.

She quickly stopped. "Are you okay Yukki? Did I hurt you?"

"No Yuno. It's just . . . it feels incredible."

Yuno continued to lower herself onto it. Enjoying the feeling of him inside her. Then she started slowly thrusting.

"Oh, Yuno." Yuki held on her hips as she bounced on him. He'd missed her so much. And as they made love he was transfixed by her face. Her eyes were closed, mouth open as she moaned. He couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten it. He moved his hands up to her chest and pinched slightly, hoping that it would pleasure her more.

Yuno could barely handle it. Yukki's penis felt like it touched all the right places every time. She noticed that Yukki was tweaking her breasts, which nearly brought her over the edge. Yukki had been right! This way she had more control over the thrusts, although Yukki's previous clumsy thrusts had their own charm. He was also moving up to meet her each time. She wouldn't last long enough.

Yukki was close to finishing as well. But he did his best to hold back. He moved his hands back to her hips and closed his eyes to try and reduce his excitement. Yet there was nothing he could do about the amazing feeling of being inside her.

Amazingly, they both finished at the same time. Yuno relished the sensation of Yukki's hot seed flowing into her. She then pulled herself off of him, and they went to the bathroom to clean each other.

Finally, they returned to the bed, naked. Holding each other and peacefully going to sleep.

 **Some of you may have noticed that I use different spellings for Yuki's name. I want to emphasize how Yuno says his name, and in the anime & manga, whenever she says it there are two k's instead of one when other people say it. When it says "Yukki", it will also represent her thinking about him. **

**Whenever there's one k, it'll be someone else thinking or talking about him.**

 **By, the way. That was a big chapter, not only in length but in terms of the story. They've fulfilled their promise and also "became one" again. I plan on releasing these chapters every 3 days or so, so you guys will know when to expect new chapters.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please leave a review, follow & favorite if you guys enjoyed. **


	4. Chapter 4: The Third World

Chapter 4: The Third World

Yukiteru woke up, he opened his eyes and then closed them again. It was very bright. Well, it was to be expected since neither he nor Yuno had planned to wake up early. Personally, he'd just wanted to spend the night with her.

"Good morning, Yukki!"

He looked over to Yuno. "How long have you been awake?"

She smiled, "Only for a few minutes. I was watching you Yukki, you're so cute when you sleep."

His cheeks blushed in embarrassment. "Well, we should get dressed Yuno." He quickly looked over Yuno's entire body. "Otherwise, I won't be able to control myself."

They were still naked after falling asleep that way; neither of them had wanted to separate during the night. In fact, they were still holding each other.

"I feel the same way, Yukki." She moved her hand over his chest, feeling his heart beat and traced a line with her finger. Then she moved off and put on a bathrobe.

Yuki did the same and they both went to get ready for the day.

"Why am I the only one doing any work around here?!" the second-world Murmur yelled as she frantically pressed buttons and looked at screens.

The third-world Murmur was busy as well in a makeshift kitchen. "What are you talking about, I'm preparing our lunch! That's work!"

"Fine, but where's first-world Murmur?"

"I think she's watching Yuno and Yukki."

"That lazy girl! Tell her to get her butt over here! It's bad enough that those two left us here to do all their work for them; we can't have anyone slacking!"

The third world's Murmur put some dough in the oven. "I'll go look for her while this cooks."

"Hurry!"

"Alright, alright." She started flying around the Cathedral looking for the first world's Murmur. "MURMUR! MURMUR! Where are you? First world Murmur, where are you?!"

She went to the Akashic Records and found first-world Murmur in the sphere that had been her prison. As expected, she was watching Yuno and Yuki. It looked like the couple were in some kind of park.

"Murmur! Get out of there and help us do some work running the world!"

The first world's Murmur jumped from shock and quickly waved the screen away. "Oh, sorry. I was just, uh, uh-

"I saw what you were watching! Now come with me to help second world Murmur."

They quickly returned to the Cathedral, the second world's Murmur was still there, working diligently. She noticed them arrive, "Quickly Murmur! Help me out here."

Both other Murmurs replied at the same time. "Which one?"

"Both of you! Either! Whatever, just help me!"

The first world's Murmur went over to help the second world's Murmur. While third-world Murmur started cooking something else.

After a while, third-world Murmur spoke up. "You know; I've been thinking about the problem we have with identifying each other by name. I mean, we're all Murmur. So how about we change our names a bit? I'll be Murmur Three while you" she pointed at first-world Murmur "will be Murmur One, and you" she pointed at second-world Murmur "will be Murmur Two."

Murmur One replied, a bit distractedly, "Sure, sounds like a great idea."

"Mhm, yeah." said Murmur Two, also not paying full attention.

"And the issue is solved!" said Murmur Three and she proudly continued her cooking.

Murmur One discreetly shrunk one of the screens until she could easily hide it to her side. It was showing Yuno and Yuki enjoying a picnic in the Sun. Murmur One couldn't understand why she was so mesmerized by the relationship, yes she was glad that Yuno was happy and had reunited with Yukiteru, but that didn't explain her fascination. It scared her, it was like an addiction at this point.

"Are you slacking off over there?" Murmur Two asked, annoyed.

"No, no, not at all!" Murmur One quickly picked up the pace, forced to pay less attention to the much more important screen at her side.

"That was a wonderful trip Yukki." Yuno was laying her head on Yukki's shoulder. They were in another train, heading back to Sakurami City.

"Yeah it was, Yuno. I've wanted to do that with you for so long."

She smiled at him, "Do you mean seeing the stars together or the sex?"

"Yuno! You know what I meant!" Yuki thought for a little bit. "Well, I guess both."

She moved her head off his shoulder and stared down at the ground, suddenly ashamed. "If I hadn't ruined it the last time, we could have seen the stars together a lot earlier."

While what she said was true, Yuki did love her and so he tried to comfort her. "It's alright, Yuno. I forgive you."

"Really, Yukki?" She said hopefully. "I understand now that what I did was wrong, but-

"Yes, Yuno. I just want you to tell me something," Yuki took a deep breath and stared intensely at her. "Why did you do it? I still don't understand, everything was going well."

"I had to protect you, Yukki, and I wasn't completely sane. It's a bit confusing to remember." Her face showed the effort she was making. "There were times when I made myself forget in order to ease the pain. But I do remember this, I felt like we were surrounded and everyone was out to get us. The Fourth had betrayed us and nearly killed us both, and we didn't know who three out of the other five diary owners were or their abilities."

She started to tear up. "You'd said that you loved me, and the Fourth came too close to killing us. I was so scared, Yukki! I thought that you were taking too many risks, the Fourth had been pointing a gun at you when I shot him! I felt like I had to restrain you to protect you."

"Yuno . . . I had no idea. Why didn't you just talk to me about it?"

"You were so happy during our last trip. I didn't want to make you worry too. And I thought you hated me when you were free." She put her hand over her left cheek, "You slapped me and left me behind."

Yuki kissed her. "I didn't hate you. Yes, I was angry, but I still loved you even then. But it did put a huge strain on our relationship. I was frightened of you after that. I'd had no idea what you were capable of, I couldn't trust you." He held her hands. "But it's different now. I know I can trust you, there aren't any more secrets between us."

"Oh, Yukki." She hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

Yuki hugged her back. "Yuno, I'd like your help with something."

"Anything, Yukki! What is it?"

"I want to see my parents again, talk to them for a little bit." Now he was the one crying. "I never told them how much I love them."

"It's okay, Yukki. Now you can." She wiped away his tears. "I already have an idea."

"There they are, Yukki." She pointed at Yuki's family. In order to hide, Yuno and Yuki were on the roof of a building on the other side of the street from them.

He saw them as tears rolled down his cheeks. "Mom and Dad. Still alive. I wish I could talk to them."

"Remember, Yukki, you have to wait until tonight. After all, it wouldn't be good if you just walked up to your third world self."

"I know." After they approached more closely, he realized who the fourth person with them was. "Wait, is that Wakaba-san?" He noticed that she was holding hands with the third world Yukiteru. "Is the third-world me dating her?"

"Apparently, Yukki." Honestly, the sight bothered her. _What's with that girl?! I thought she rejected his love letter!_ She looked over to the Yukki at her side. _It doesn't matter. I have my own Yukki right here!_

"Well, that's good."

"What do you mean, Yukki?" Did he actually still like that girl? _No, that can't be it. He's already proven that he loves me, I shouldn't doubt that. But if that's true, then, why is he smiling?_

"If he hadn't been going out with her, he might have taken you for himself."

She sighed in relief, of course he still loved her! "He looks very happy with her." Yuno tried to keep as much emotion as she could out of her voice, but didn't succeed. It was obvious how upset she was.

"What's wrong, Yuno?"

She hesitated before asking him. "Would you have been happier with her instead of with me?" Yuno wasn't sure whether she wanted the answer to that question.

Yukki answered quickly, "No! Of course not! I'm much happier with you than I'd ever be with her. Besides, it wouldn't have worked out with her in the previous world."

"It might have if I hadn't interfered."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Reluctantly, Yuno started to confess her antics. "Well, remember when you were planning to hand her your love letter?"

"Yes. Wait . . . Oh my God, you were that bunny!"

"Please don't be mad Yukki!" she begged.

"Hahahahaha!"

He held his sides and continued laughing, this certainly wasn't the reaction Yuno had been expecting.

Between laughs he managed to speak a few words. "Of course- It should have been obvious- You were- And that time at the-You are one hell of a stalker!" He stopped laughing. "Well, that's water under the bridge now. She rejected me anyway, so I don't think you would have needed to do anything."

"That isn't true. I didn't interfere in this world, and she ended up by your side."

"Not my side, Yuno. His side." He pointed across the street. "The side of the Yukiteru of the third world, not me. Although, I'm confused by how he managed it. Maybe Dad gave him some advice, since they were still a family."

Yuno didn't want to talk about this anymore. "Well, let's go prepare for tonight."

They went to the Cathedral of Causality and made preparations. They were amused by the naming system that the Murmurs had come up with.

Nighttime seemed to arrive quickly. Yuno watched over Yukki as he went to sleep. Right now, he'd find his parents and say what he wanted to them while they dreamt. This way, no confusion would arise between the third world Yukki and his parents on the conversation, as Yukki's parents would believe that it was just a dream. Yukki wasn't really asleep, per se, he was faintly aware of his surroundings and what he was doing, but it was the closest word for his current state.

She watched over him, then realized that she had something important to do. She left the Cathedral, it shouldn't take her too long.

"Mom?" He quickly imagined the living room of his house. Making it a familiar place would be best. He also made the image fuzzy and unclear, to give her the feeling of being in a dream.

"Yuki-kun? What in the world are you wearing?"

Yukiteru was wearing his black cloak, he quickly changed them to the normal clothes he used to wear.

"What do you mean, Mom?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you do that?"

He was about to answer, but instead he remembered what exactly he was doing and ignored her question. _I have to make this as dream-like an experience as possible._ Although they were in a dream, they were both in their normal, conscious mindsets. He didn't want to talk to her when she'd blindly accept whatever bizarre thing happened, he wanted a genuine reaction.

He flew over to her and hugged her. "I love you, Mom. I'm so sorry that I didn't say it often enough. I'm so grateful for you taking care of me."

Unsure how to react, Amano Rea did what she thought a mother should after hearing her son say that. "I love you too, Yukiteru. Don't be upset, you say it plenty."

He started crying. "Thank you. I'm so sorry for . . . for everything." He hadn't been able to protect her in the second world, and he'd selfishly killed others in a vain attempt to bring her back to life. He knew she'd be appalled by the things he'd done, and he couldn't bring himself to confess to her. Not even through her dreams.

"Sweet dreams, Mom."

He left and made his way to his Dad. His father had killed Mom, but he had been prepared to repent for his sins. On his way, Yukiteru realized something: he'd never be able to talk to his actual parents and tell them what he wanted to say. They were long dead. The woman he'd just spoken to wasn't the mother he'd known, she was the mother of this world's Yukiteru, not him.

Even so, he still had to do this, and the short conversation with his mother made him feel much better and reduce the immense guilt he still felt.

He'd arrived, this time he chose the temple where his father had died. Again, giving it a dream-like atmosphere. "Dad."

"Yukiteru-kun?"

Yuki loved his father, and he told him that. Yet, as they spoke, he noticed how different the man in front of him was from the father he knew. The underlying nervousness was gone, he'd probably settled his debt in this world, or maybe he'd avoided it altogether. It was amazing how different the third world was, he'd have to ask Yuno about it eventually.

"We should exercise more often, Dad."

Amano Kurou was a bit surprised by this request. "Alright, Yuki. I'll be sure to remember that."

"I love you, Dad." On that note, he left. He was sure that this way, his third-world self would spend more time with his father and appreciate him more.

He awoke in the Cathedral, with Yuno at his side. From a nearby clock he saw that he'd been gone for only few minutes.

"Well Yukki? How did it go?"

He got up and smiled, "I'm glad I was able to talk to them." His smile quickly faded and he continued to speak, "But they weren't my parents, I could tell, they were different." He sadly recalled that his true parents were long dead. "I don't think there'd be any point in seeing them again. I can't really say what I need to, besides, they need to take care of their own Yukiteru."

Yuno hugged him, doing her best to ease Yukki's sorrow. "It'll be okay, Yukki. I'm here for you." But an alarming thought appeared in the back of her mind. _But I'm not the Yuno he wants. The Yuno he wants is dead._

 **A bit of a depressing note to leave on, but what kind of story only has happiness and joy? Boring ones. So, this is what you'll get if you don't want a boring story.**

 **Also, while I am very grateful for the reviews I have. I can't do much with them. The reviews are where you guys can leave your input on the story; if there's anything you don't like or think I can improve upon, that's where you'll tell me.**

 **The next chapter will be out sometime this week. I'm a bit busy so my original goal of a chapter every 3 days isn't going to work anymore. Also, each chapter has been getting longer.**

 **Anyway, leave a review. Favorite & Follow if you enjoyed. **

**Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

**Well, I got this chapter out a lot sooner than I expected. It's a bit of a shorter one but I think you guys will enjoy it.**

Chapter 5: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

As she sat at her desk, Yuno wondered why she was even at school. She should be with Yukki, not learning about useless polynomials. These teachers weren't much help anyway, it was usually better for her to take the textbook at home and figure it out in a few hours.

"Yuno?"

She quickly snapped back to reality.

It was Hinata. "Yuno, are you okay? That was the third time I've said your name."

"Oh, sorry." Well, at least her friends made class more bearable. "What is it?"

"You've been really distracted lately. Is something bothering you?"

"Oh no, not at all! It's just-

"You seem much happier now."

Yuno was amazed by her friend's perceptiveness. "Well, I guess so."

"It's a guy, isn't it?"

 _Damn her, she knows me too well._ "No. That's not it at all." She promptly crossed her arms and looked away.

"Come on, who is it?"

After a bit more prodding, Hinata realized that Yuno wasn't going to answer. So she switched tactics. "Well, since we're on the subject of dating, don't you think that Amano Yukiteru-kun is kind of cute?"

No. There was no possible way that she knew. "I . . . I . . ."

"No way! You like Amano-kun? But he's with Wakaba!"

"What's going on back there?!"

The teacher had noticed their conversation. He promptly separated the two and gave them a stern talking to after class. He was rather light on Yuno, however, as she was an honors student and usually paid proper respect.

In the halls, Hinata continued their conversation. "So where has Amano-kun been these past few days?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Come on, you know, he and Wakaba-san haven't been in school these past few days." Hinata leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Some people think they've ran away together."

The thought of Yukki, even if it was this world's Yukki, with another girl angered her. Which didn't escape the notice of her friend.

"But _you_ 've been with Amano-kun, haven't you!"

"No I haven't." Technically, it wasn't a lie. She'd been with her Yukki, not the one Hinata was talking about. "Anyway, that wouldn't explain where Wakaba-san has been. She's an honors student too, I doubt she'd just leave school with Yuk-Amano-kun."

"True, but you have feelings for him don't you?" She held up a hand as Yuno was about to answer. "Never mind, you'll just deny it. I promise I won't tell anyone, alright?"

Yuno couldn't think of anything to say that would convince Hinata that she was wrong, so she didn't reply.

Although, it was strange that the third world's Yukki and Wakaba were missing.

"Really, he's missing?" Yukki was in the Cathedral. Yuno had brought him up to speed on the situation. "I don't think he's the type to just skip school. Maybe he's just been sick. Let's see."

Yuno noticed that he was very careful not to refer to the third-world Yukki as himself. _Does he do that with me in his head? Am I a fake Yuno to him?_ No, she had to focus right now. That wasn't the issue.

A large screen appeared, giving them a view of Yuki's parents talking with Detective Nishijima and Captain Kurusu Keigo, who had been the Fourth in the previous world.

Yuki's mother was crying, and it was mostly his father that did the talking.

"I see, so the search isn't going very well."

The police chief shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we haven't found a single trace of him. We've searched places he often visited, and thoroughly examined the area around his last sighting. It's as if he's just vanished in thin air."

He cleared his throat before speaking again. "However, we've found something that may be relevant to this case. You said that he was dating a girl, Wakaba Moe, am I correct?"

"Yes, you've told us that she's missing too."

"You may want to sit down." He took a deep breath. "We've found her corpse."

"What?!"

"Was there any hostility between Yukiteru and Moe?"

Yuki's mother spoke up. "No! Why would you ask that, do you think Yuki killed her?! I know my son, he wouldn't do that!"

"Well, according to our forensics team, she died three to four days ago. Which is around the time your son disappeared. We must consider the possibility."

"Why, you-

Kurusu held up his hands to calm her down. "Now, Amano-san, we aren't saying that Yukiteru murdered her. Her body was found at the bottom of a ditch. It may have been an accident, and it is possible that he was afraid of being blamed and ran away instead."

Amano Rea cried even harder. Her husband answered in a strained voice, "I see, thank you for telling us detective."

The two detectives left without another word. Outside the house, Nishijima spoke up. "Kurusu-san, why did you tell them it could have been an accident? You saw the body, there's no way those wounds were accidental."

"Parents don't want to believe the worst about their children, Nishijima. Would you have wanted to tell them that their son is a murderer?"

"I don't think it was him, sir. He doesn't seem like a killer at all. I think you should've told them that the murderer could've been someone else."

"You never know Nishijima. I don't think it's a coincidence that he goes missing right after his girlfriend dies from stab wounds."

Yuki made the screen go away. What in the hell was going on? There was no way that this world's Yukiteru had killed her. He knew himself too well, two years couldn't have changed him that much.

He turned to Yuno. "I think we should go see the crime scene."

"Why, Yukki? I don't think this is any of our business."

"Please, Yuno. It might give us some clues about this world's Yukiteru. I don't want my- _his_ parents to suffer."

So that was why, she was strangely happy that he'd momentarily called them his parents, not the third-world Yukki's. As if that somehow verified her position with him. "Alright Yukki. Let's go."

They found it. The crime scene was in a secluded region of the woods. It was surprising that the police had even managed to find it. The body was there, along with some blood and a bunch of police markers.

After they'd looked around for a bit, Yuno spoke. "I don't think it was you, Yukki."

"I don't think so either." He paused for a second. "But, I know that I can kill if I'm forced to.

When he lowered himself inside the ditch, Yukiteru looked around. There was some blood here too and there, under some leaves, Yuki found a lock of hair.

Pink hair.

No.

No.

It couldn't be true, Yuno wouldn't-

"What is it Yukki?" Yuno called down to him.

He climbed up and held out the hair that he'd found, the same color as hers. "Why is this here Yuno?"

"Is that my hair? I don't know, why-

"DON'T PLAY DUMB! It was you wasn't it? You killed her!"

Yuno's eyes widened at his accusation. "No, Yukki. It wasn't me!"

He could tell she was being sincere and he hated the thought that she'd killed Wakaba-san. "Then explain to me why I found your hair here."

"I don't know why Yukki."

He looked at the lock of hair that pointed the blame at her, almost wishing he hadn't found it. "Kurusu-san said she died three to four days ago. Which was also when we last saw her. What were you doing then?" He stared at her, hoping she'd be able to explain it away. "Tell me."

Yukki was giving her a chance! He must know deep down that she was innocent. "I was with you Yukki, you know that. We even slept together. Pretty much the only time we were separated was when you visited your parents, and I was just . . . just . . ."

"Just what?"

Yuno was confused. _What's going on? Why is my mind drawing a blank? What was I doing?!_ "I don't remember, Yukki." She started to cry. "I don't remember!" No, now Yukki would be angry at her and he'd think that she'd done it and-

"I thought you were past this Yuno." Yuki was sad, he wasn't angry or yelling like Yuno had thought he would be. "You're insane Yuno."

"NO! Don't say that Yukki, please. I just can't remember" He couldn't call her crazy. She wasn't crazy! She wasn't! Damn it, why couldn't she remember!

"You can't remember because you've erased your own memories again, haven't you!" He grabbed her arm, forcefully, angrily. "We're going back to the Cathedral. The Murmurs will be able to settle this."

Yuno's tears flowed down her cheeks, he hated her now, their future together was ruined. He wouldn't believe her, everything was pointing at her. She could only follow along as he roughly pulled her.

Yuki was upset as well. He didn't hate her, he loved her so much that this hurt. It hurt so much that he couldn't even look at her as he pulled her along. She was crying, he knew that, and he wanted to comfort her and wipe her tears away. But he couldn't, she was too dangerous and insane. Had seeing Wakaba with his third-world self driven her to do this?

Why did she have to wipe her own memories?! If she hadn't at least she would know that she was guilty and wouldn't be so upset. It was too painful doing this, but he had to stop her from hurting anyone else, and that meant treating her like this. But there was still hope that the Murmurs would show them that he was wrong, that it wasn't her, he hoped it was true.

He turned around to look at her, which was a huge mistake.

It was obvious how much pain she was in. He'd just called her a crazy murderer. Even if those things were true, he couldn't stand watching her cry. His resolve wavered.

He hugged her. "Yuno, I do want it be true. I want to believe you. Please, don't cry. Come with me and show me that my faith isn't misplaced. I love you."

Yukki had no idea how much better those words made her feel. He did still love her, and the solution was easy. The Murmurs would show the truth.

 **I don't have much to say. I still need some constructive criticism. Next chapter will be out in less than a week.**

 **Follow and/or favorite if you think my fanfic deserves it.**


	6. Chapter 6: True Insanity

Chapter 6: True Insanity

Yukiteru and all three Murmurs surrounded Yuno as she lay asleep on a bed. Yuki watched as the Murmurs tried to restore her memories.

"Have you made any progress?" he asked.

For a while the Murmurs stayed silent, concentrating on their task. "No." said Murmur Two. "It seems that she was very careful in erasing her memory."

"But, you guys can bring them back. Right?"

Murmur One spoke up, "I'm not so sure, she's very skilled at tampering with her own memories."

"Then, is there any hope of proving that she didn't do it?"

"Honestly, I think it's pretty obvious that it was her," answered Murmur One. "How else would you explain the hair you found, and the memory removal?"

"I don't know. It's hard for me to believe it was her, she seemed so stable and calm. Not like how she was before." Yuki lightly squeezed one of her hands. "Did you find anything about where the third world's Yukiteru is?"

"Unfortunately, no." Murmur One floated over to him, leaving the other two to continue working. "You need to realize that Yuno hasn't been stable ever since she lost her parents. While it's true that this Yuno's parents survived, she's also received the memories of the first world's Yuno. I was the one who gave them to her, I know that they'd be enough to disturb anyone."

Yuki rushed to defend her. "Still, she was never this unstable before! Even if she is still crazy, would seeing another me with a girl be enough to make Yuno kill her?! I know she can get jealous, but-

"Now that's an understatement. Yuno doesn't just get jealous, she becomes _murderous._ " Murmur One looked at Yuki as if he were stupid. "Have you forgotten how she was going to kill that Hinata girl in the incident with the Tenth, or how she manipulated you into killing your friends?"

Yuki looked down at the ground. "I remember." Then he looked Murmur One in the eyes. "But you said so yourself, this Yuno is different. She should be saner, right?"

"I see how you might think that, but consider this, this Yuno is much more innocent than the first world's was. She had a mostly normal life. Now, suddenly she receives vivid memories of bloodshed and emotion. She even remembers killing herself for you! Also, the first world's Yuno accumulated those experiences over time and her mind managed to adjust to them. When this Yuno received them all at once they could have affected her to the point where she'd be even more insane than her counterpart."

"Then what can I do to help her? I can't let her kill anyone else, but I don't want to make her suffer by imprisoning her." He kissed Yuno's forehead. "I love her."

"There's only one way to do that. You can fully erase Yuno's memories of you and the other worlds."

He quickly turned around, shocked by what she said. "No! I can't do that to her!"

"Really, Yukiteru? Or do you mean you can't do this to yourself? Aren't you really just being selfish by keeping her to yourself and making her suffer those memories?"

Yuki replied less certainly. "But, she said so herself, she hated not having those memories."

"That was only because of me. I managed to give her a few faint impressions during my imprisonment." Murmur One shook her head. "If I'd known it would do this to her, I would have just kept them to myself."

"I-I'll only do it if Yuno wants to, I won't force it on her." Yet as he stared down at her peaceful face he couldn't stop unpleasant thoughts from surfacing. _Is it true? Would she really be happier with a complete memory wipe? Without the empty feeling this time? And that way, she wouldn't kill anybody else._ He made a promise to himself. _If she wants to do it, then I'll help her, even if it means I'll be separated from her again._

The other Murmurs had stopped working on Yuno, and went on their way to perform the grueling task of maintaining the world. Which left Yuki alone to wait for Yuno to wake up.

After a few minutes, Yuno opened her eyes and smiled when she saw that Yukki was at her side. She tried to access the memories that she'd erased, when he'd gone to meet his parents, but it was still a blank. "It didn't work, Yukki?"

"No Yuno, it didn't." He paused. "Yuno, I want you to be happy, and I think this might be the best way to make that possible, would you consider erasing your memories of the other worlds completely?"

"What? No! I've already told you Yukki." Yuno hugged him tightly, "I don't want to ever forget you again."

"Yuno, aren't those memories painful?"

"Lots of them are, Yukki. But others, the memories I have of you, are some of the happiest and most meaningful ones that I have. Without them, my life would be empty." said Yuno. "I don't want that emptiness in my life again."

"Yuno, the only reason you felt that way was because Murmur One was able to give you back a few of your memories during her imprisonment. This time, if no one interferes, you won't feel that way."

"Yukki . . . don't you love me?" asked Yuno, on the verge of tears. "Is it so easy for you to give me up like this and let some other boy have me?"

"Of course I love you Yuno." Yukiteru held her closer to him. "But if being with me is making you suffer, then I won't force you to stay with me." He looked in her eyes, and held her hands. "But that's not the only reason I think you should fully wipe your memory. I can't let you kill innocent people, and this is the best way to make sure of that. I don't know if that matters to you, but please, think about it."

Yukki kissed her and left.

Yuno's thoughts were in turmoil. _Yukki loves me, but is willing to let me go. That doesn't make any sense. Is my happiness so important to him? So important that he'd let me live my life without him? I don't understand! If anyone tried to steal Yukki from me, I'd kill-_

 _NO! I can't do that! What's wrong with me?!_ The thought of killing anyone would have been unimaginable for Yuno a few weeks ago, yet after she'd received these memories it was almost second nature to her. _So this is what Yukki meant._ Yuno pulled her knees up and put her head between them. _Maybe . . . Maybe I did kill that girl. But even if I did, I won't let Yukki erase my memories again._

She went to go find Yukki and tell him her decision. It didn't take long, he was in the Cathedral, watching his parents. As he saw her, he waved the screen away.

"Well, Yuno, will you do it?" asked Yukiteru.

She shook her head. "No Yukki. I'm going to stay with you."

Yuki was incredibly relieved. Even though he'd been prepared to erase Yuno's memories to give her a happier life, he'd hoped she would make the choice to stay with him; even if he thought that was rather selfish of himself.

Yukki's relief made Yuno smile. _I should have known that was what Yukki really wanted. He does love me!_

However, this was still a problem for Yukki. As long as she was going to keep her memories, there would always be the risk of her going berserk.

"I love you Yuno, but . . . I can't trust you."

"I understand Yukki," replied Yuno. "It bothers me too, that killing comes so easily to me. I'll do whatever it takes to win your trust again."

"Okay, Yuno. You'll have to promise me though; you can't kill people anymore."

"I promise Yukki," answered Yuno.

For the rest of the evening, Yuno had planned to stay close by Yukki. If she was always with him, he'd be able to make sure she wouldn't have any opportunities to kill anyone. He'd be her alibi, and it would've been nice to spend the rest of the night with him. But instead, he told her he had to speak privately with the Murmurs, leaving her all by herself.

When Yukki had finished his meeting with the Murmurs, he came back to her.

"I was here all this time Yukki," said Yuno. A bit jokingly she continued, "So you can't blame me if something happened when I was out of your sight."

"I know Yuno, the Murmurs and I made sure of that during our meeting."

"Oh, what did you talk about?"

Yuki smiled. "Right now, it's a secret. You'll see in a few days."

"Okay, Yukki."

He opened his phone. "Wow, it's pretty late. How about we go to bed?"

"Sure, Yukki." She looked closer at his screen. "Wait, Yukki, what is this?"

Apparently, his phone still worked as a Future Diary, as there were entries for future times, but it was different, the entries weren't at all like his Diary should have been.

00:10

Yuno and I go to sleep. She's so beautiful.

00:20

Yuno's asleep.

00:30

Yuno's asleep.

00:40

Yuno's asleep.

He closed it. "It's my future Diary. Instead of a Random Diary that tells me about everything I see, now it's a Yuno Diary. It'll tell me everything about you at ten-minute intervals."

Yuno's heart beat incredibly quickly and blood rushed to her cheeks. "Oh, Yukki, I'm so happy."

"What do you mean?" asked Yukki.

"Was this the secret? I should have never doubted your love, I'm so happy that you made one for me!" She kissed him passionately but he didn't respond as excitedly.

She pulled back from him. "Yukki? What's wrong?"

"Yuno, doesn't this bother you?"

"Why would it bother me Yukki? It just shows that you love me!"

"I'll be able to see what you're doing every ten minutes. Do you think it's okay for me to just invade your privacy like that?" asked Yuki. "The only reason I did this is because I need to make sure you don't hurt anybody."

"It doesn't bother me Yukki . . . I just wish you'd done it because you love me. Not because you don't trust me."

"You do know that I love you, right Yuno?" He put his arms around her. "Have I done anything that made you think I don't?"

"No, Yukki. It's my own fault. I'm just so paranoid sometimes." It was true, these memories had changed her in frightening ways. It seemed like if she didn't constantly check on him, he'd leave her, or someone would steal him away. If only she still had her Yukki diary. _But I can't ask him to make me one, I see now that it bothers him. Besides, I'd find out what his secret is before he's ready to tell me._

They went to the bedroom they'd made in the Cathedral and slept peacefully together.

* * *

She needed to see her Yukki now! Damn it! If only the second world's Yukki had went to sleep sooner she would have had more time with her Yukki.

It was 00:10 right now, Yukki should be going to sleep with _her._ It was a good thing she had her own Yukki, otherwise she would have killed the Yuno that had taken the second world one.

Here he was: her Yukki. Without any troublesome god powers, he was so much easier to handle.

"Ah, Yukki, I'm here. I'm sorry for leaving you for so long."

The third world's Yukiteru was chained in a chair, this time none of his meddlesome friends would come here to steal him.

"Gasai-san, please let me go. You said you love me right? Then please, let me see my parents again!" he begged as tears fell down his cheeks.

She grabbed some tissues and went over to Yukki. She didn't want to make him cry, she loved him, but if she let him free he'd leave her.

She couldn't let him leave her.

She walked over to him and wiped his tears. "Please don't cry, Yukki. I'll try to let you see your parents as soon as possible." After she did so she hugged him, "And don't call me Gasai-san, Yukki, call me Yuno."

"O-Okay, Yuno." He tried to lean back as far away from her embrace as he could. "When will you let me go?"

"Never! I'll never let you go Yukki! Why would you want to leave me!" she suddenly yelled at him. No, she had to remember. _This Yukki doesn't love me yet, but that's okay, he will soon. I'll make him._

She spoke again softly, "I'm sorry for getting mad Yukki. It's just . . . I love you so much, and I want you to feel the same away about me. Un-Until then, I have to keep you here, okay? So you fall in love with me and no one can take you away."

He couldn't take it anymore, again and again she'd said the same thing. "You crazy bitch! Let me go! I'll never fall in love with you!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks, "Yukki, how could you say that? I love you. I-I'm sorry for making you mad." _I have to be patient with him._

"Would you like to go outside with me, Yukki?" she said in an attempt to calm him down. "I know it can get boring in here by yourself."

To the third world's Yukiteru, boring was an understatement. If he stayed here tied up to this chair much longer he'd lose his mind. And that would be without this crazy, pink-haired girl's mood swings from "loving" to complete insanity.

"Sure, sure, of course I'd like to go with you!" Good, she was going to let him out, this would be a chance for him to escape!

She, however, interpreted it differently, he was starting to like her! Oh, it would be like a date!

She had to make sure the other Yukki and Yuno wouldn't interfere.

 **Another fairly long chapter. Things are starting to come into place.**

 **It may seem like the other Yuno in the story comes out of nowhere, but there's a method to the madness. The next chapter will be out in a few (3-5) days.**

 **Favorite and Follow if you enjoyed. Please give feedback.**


	7. Chapter 7: Disturbing Memories

Chapter 7: Disturbing Memories

Yuno was walking home from school, it was late afternoon, she had to quickly finish her homework so she could go see Yukki. She sighed, what was the point in going to school? She already had a future living with Yukki as a god.

But, she couldn't disappoint her parents, they wanted her to have a bright future, and she couldn't tell them about everything that had happened. Still, her relationship with them was very important to her, especially now that she knew what life had been like without them. Although she did wish that they would be less strict. Her mother still monitored her grades vigilantly and maintained a curfew.

Fortunately, she hadn't put Yuno in the cage in two years, ever since Yukki had come to this world and changed the future.

She was incredibly grateful to him for that, without Yukki, she would have ended up killing her parents. So many of the people around her would have met terrible fates: all the diary users and her current friends would have faced death.

She checked the time, it was 3:30 in the afternoon. At least five hours until she would be able to see Yukki tonight.

Strange, there was someone waiting in front of her house.

"Yukki!" Yuno ran quickly. It was Yukki waiting for her! _He's such a great boyfriend._

She hugged him and Yukiteru nearly fell back from the force. He laughed as he regained his balance. "Whoa, whoa. I'm happy to see you too, Yuno."

Yuno laughed along with him. Her day already brightening thanks to his presence.

"How come you're here? I thought we wouldn't see each other till tonight?"

"I thought it would be a nice surprise," said Yuki. "Also, I wanted to ask you some things."

"What is it Yukki?"

"Well, let's go inside first. I don't want anyone to come along and mistake me for this world's Yukiteru."

She nodded. "Yeah, you're right."

As they went inside, they went up to Yuno's room. Yukiteru and Yuno sat together on her bed.

"Yuno, do you have any memories of where this world's Yukiteru is?" asked Yuki. He phrased his question very carefully. _I don't want to make her feel any worse for what she did. We'll move past this and I'll help her become sane again._

"No, Yukki. I'm sorry," replied Yuno. "I don't remember anything."

"Well, do you have any ideas where he might be right now?" asked Yuki.

"Yukki." Yuno had noticed the way he formed his questions. "It's alright, I've accepted that I killed that girl and did something to this world's you. You don't have to spare my feelings." She paused for a bit, thinking of places where she would have hidden this world's Yukki. _What would I have done with him anyway? I love this Yukki already._

Yuno sighed. "Honestly, I have no idea. I'm not even sure where I could have put him, there's only a few minutes missing from my memory."

Yuno turned to look at Yukki and suddenly her anger exploded. She hated herself for jeopardizing their love, she hated that she'd lost his trust. She hated that she couldn't trust herself!

"Damn it!" She threw her bag at the door. "I don't understand!"

"What Yuno?"

"Myself! How these memories have changed me! Why I did what I did!" Suddenly, her anger disappeared. Revealing the fear that she'd been covering up. The fear of not being able to trust herself, her own mind. The fear that she would drive Yukki away.

Yukiteru put a hand on her shoulder. "Look Yuno, we don't have to talk about this right now. It'll be alright, the Murmurs are searching for him right now." He knelt down in front of her to meet her eyes. "I forgive you, and I'll help you."

He smiled. "Don't you remember? I promised I wouldn't leave you again, I love you." Yuki kissed her.

Yet even as he did, Yuno couldn't help thinking about how he hadn't made that promise to _her_. Not really. He'd made it to the other Yuno.

"Why don't you believe me Yuno?" asked Yuki, noticing her worry. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, no! I believe you Yukki!"

"Liar," said Yukiteru. He wasn't upset, he just wanted to know why she wouldn't believe him, no matter how often he tried to reassure her. "It'll be better for us if we don't keep secrets from each other. You can tell me anything Yuno."

"It's-it's just that . . . I . . . I." _Damn it! It's not fair! He's looking at me so intently! I can't lie to him._ "Yukki, you don't love me. You just haven't realized it yet." As she said it, she was determined to maintain their relationship even if he tried to leave her. Maybe that was insane, but she didn't care. She wouldn't kidnap him again, she would respect his wishes, but she'd still chase after him. Because she loved him.

"What do you mean? Of course I love you."

"No, let me explain. I understand the differences between me and the girl you fell in love with better than anyone else." She took a deep breath. "She was an incredibly selfish, insane murderer. She thought she was in love with you, but she wasn't. At least . . . not for a very long time. You gave her a future to look forward to after se had accidentally killed her parents. You were her rock, her support, that was the only reason she first developed feelings for you.

"She wanted you all to herself and she would have killed anyone who got in her way. Your mother, father, friends, anyone. She only cared about your happiness as long as you stayed with her. She didn't accept your decision to commit suicide with her, and she would have killed you and been fine with another Yukki in your place. Yet you loved her, you were willing to die for her to give her the happiness that she had so little of.

"I pity her, she had suffered so much and wanted the same thing everyone else did. To be happy, and she thought that you, or rather, a Yukki was the only way."

Tears started to fall down Yuno's cheeks as she remembered. "That night, the night you and I came to this world is the most important night of my life. You saved me and my parents from horrible fates, I remember you, saving me from that cage. Fighting to protect me from the other me."

Yukki noticed something. _She's stopped thinking of the other Yuno as a separate person. Even though she says she's different from the first-world Yuno, I don't believe it, and I don't think she fully believes it either. But even if it's true, she's still Yuno, I love her._

"I remember you abandoning your perfect dream-world for me, and telling me that you'd die for me. I remember finally understanding what true love was and realizing that it wasn't the obsession that I previously had for you. I remember sacrificing myself for you the way I would have if I had truly loved you from the beginning, instead of only when you showed me your love at that moment." The memories were almost too powerful for her. "I remember our final kiss, and feeling the happiness that you'd tried so hard to give me.

"So, do you see, Yukki?"

Instead of answering, Yuki held her and kissed her passionately. Words weren't enough to convey how much he loved her. No, words were interfering completely. Yuno was hiding behind them, using them to cover up the much more basic insecurity she felt. He realized it now, she was afraid of him leaving her, she'd always been afraid. No matter what he said, it wouldn't be enough to convince her. So he wouldn't say anything at all.

"Yukki, wait. Stop Yuki." Yuno weakly resisted. She wanted him as well and her resistance slowly withered away. _No, Yukki, please understand! I'll make you love me, the real me! So don't do this right now-_

Suddenly, Yuno saw an image. No, not an image, a thought. A thought and she wasn't just seeing it, she felt it as well. It was a thought, suffused with love, for her. What was going on? Then, she felt Yukki's presence, not only the physical presence of his body, but also his presence in her _mind._

Another thought entered her mind, but it wasn't her own. _You don't have to make me love you, Yuno. Here, look._

 _Yukki? How?_

She heard him laughing and sensed his amusement. _Have you forgotten? We're gods._

Suddenly, she experienced more of Yukki's sensations: His memories of the time he'd spent with her, from their first date at the amusement park to her death. The memories and love he felt for the first world's Yuno.

Then, came the moment she'd first went to the second world to see him. The surprise and joy he felt, and as his memories approached the present, she _saw._ He had been aware of the differences between her and her first-world self but still loved each Yuno, even the second world's Yuno, who'd been killed before he could get to truly know her.

 _See?_ He wasn't really communicating in words; it was more like a vague, general question. He was asking her: _See my love for you? See how unimportant these differences are? Do you see?_

Understanding dawned on Yuno, and the insecurity she'd felt, which had plagued her for so long had been cured.

 _I see, Yukki._

 _Good. Then, can you show me?_

Yuno understood, he wanted a deeper understanding of her too. She wouldn't hide anything from him anymore.

Now Yukiteru was the one seeing through another's eyes. First, he felt the suffering she'd endured from her parents. The common thread among all the Yunos. Then, came the memories when they first met, when she'd promised to be his bride. The joy she felt at his acceptance and the beginning of her insane obsession with him. At first, he'd assumed that these were the memories of the second world, but as he went through more memories, he realized that they were of the first world.

It was odd, seeing how oddly similar it was to his own. Although, that Yuki hadn't known about the dead bodies, and had fallen in love with Yuno more readily. Her resulting joy was almost overwhelming, but accompanied by her insanity.

Then, came his suicide, and Yuno's plan to become God and bring him back to life. Her despair at the failure was almost unbearable, yet he had to endure it. Yuno withstood it, so Yuki had to in order to understand her.

He experienced her entering the second world.

 _Oh my God._ Yukiteru's mind recoiled at this experience.

She had been on the verge of losing her mind as she killed her other self. Some stability returned thanks to her relief from being able to be with him again. It was difficult for Yuki to see this, he loved Yuno, every Yuno.

 _I wasn't worth this._

Yuno immediately countered him. _No, Yukki, you are. You're the most precious thing in the world to me._

 _I . . . I know that. But-_

 _There's more Yukki, keep watching._

The first-world Yuno's mind had stayed stable thanks to the memory removal Murmur One had given her. Memory tampering was a solution she constantly used. She had used it when he'd discovered the dead bodies and when Akise had confronted her about the third body.

He experienced and now he truly understood her perspective on events they'd both gone through.

He experienced Yuno's death. By that point, her love for him had been free of insanity and selfishness. Her joy nearly overwhelmed him again, and this time it was pure. As were her wish to stay with him like this forever and her regret for the pain she had inflicted.

Finally, Yuno gave him her memories of this world. She had been barely conscious when he'd freed her from the cage while the first world Yuno tried to kill her. Her confusion was evident.

After that, she'd led a normal, happy life. Yukiteru was so happy that she'd been able to have one. The only thing wrong had been the empty feeling she had mentioned before. It was powerful, much more powerful than he'd thought. As was her desire to find him. He continued watching until she reached the present, and he examined the suppression of her memory.

He understood now.

He understood where her insecurities came from. In part, it was due to him, his fear and suspicion of Yuno had kept her frightened of him leaving her. Although the lack of stability in Yuno's mental state amplified it immensely. And traces of it had been present until now.

Yuki realized something else. Yuno couldn't have killed Wakaba-san. He doubted Yuno would have gone that far even at her most insane. While this Yuno still had some issues, they weren't as dramatic as Murmur One had led him to believe. He and Yuno could solve them together, especially now that they could do this.

As he left her mind, Yuno cried out.

"Wait, Yukki! Don't leave yet." The warmth of his mental presence was gone. She felt like someone had placed a warm fire near her in the middle of a blizzard and then extinguished it.

He shook his head, he felt the same way, but it was necessary. "I can't, the Murmurs said it could be dangerous if we did that for too long. Look at the time."

Yuno looked at her bedside clock. 17:27, almost two hours had passed since they'd entered her room!

 _How?_ She suddenly realized she'd only framed the question mentally; she would need to start speaking again. "How is that possible Yukki? I'm sure that it hasn't been that long."

"That's one of the dangers. We start to lose track of time pretty quickly. But that's not important right now. Yuno, I don't think you killed Wakaba-san."

She blinked in surprise. "Yukki, I'm happy that you think that, but we both know that it had to have been me."

"No Yuno, it wasn't! What we've just done has shown me that. Also, something's very off about her murder."

"What's off about it? And how has our . . ." Yuno struggled to find the words to describe what had just happened "experience shown you it wasn't me?"

"Look, when we arrived at the scene, the police had already searched the area for clues. So how could they have missed a lock of your hair?"

Yuno thought about is _very strange. They'd even had markers on the blood patterns there, how could they have missed a lock of hair?_

"Yukki, do you think someone planted it there?"

He shook his head "I don't know Yuno. But that's not the only strange thing about her death: You're smart, way too smart to kill Wakaba-san and make it so obvious."

Yuno blushed at the compliment, even in its bizarre context. _Yukki's exaggerating, it's not like I'm a genius or anything._

"Think about it. If you had killed her and erased your memory at the time she died, it looks like you did it! You don't want to be caught for killing her, you wouldn't risk me leaving you."

After a short pause, Yuno answered. "But Yukki, if it wasn't me, then how do you explain my memory loss? How do you explain my hair being at the scene? Someone would have had to erase my memory, kill Wakaba, and plant my hair at the scene so you would find it instead of the police. More than that, they'd also have to plan it so that it would happen when we weren't together.

"Who could have done that? And what motive would they have? Look, I'm really happy that you don't want to believe it was me, but it was." It hurt to disillusion him, to make him think badly of her, but he deserved the truth. "Yes, it's weird that the police missed my hair, but that could just be a mistake on their part."

"No, our experience has made me sure of this. You only felt discomfort at seeing the other Yuki with Wakaba-san, and you don't have any memories of resentment or jealousy towards her. There weren't any missing gaps, so there's no way you could have erased them."

Yukki reached over and put his hand on her cheek, looking at her in a strange way, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

"Also, you're not insane. You wouldn't have killed her even if you'd felt jealous."

"But-

"Hold on a second, listen. You didn't have the motivation to kill her. Even if you had, you aren't stupid, you wouldn't have made it so obvious that it was you."

"It looks like the thorough police examination of the scene missed a lock of your hair. But they didn't miss it, someone probably planted it there, like you said, to make me think that the murderer was you."

Yuno was starting to believe him. Things were starting to add up. Still, some parts didn't fit. "What about my memory wipe? Who could have arranged that? Why would they want to anyway? The only result of that was the damage to our relationship."

"Not only that, this world's Yukiteru is missing. Maybe the killer arranged this murder to kidnap him and shift the blame on you so we wouldn't suspect anyone else. I don't know who would want to do that, or even could do everything necessary to make that happen. But don't you see, Yuno?"

Yuno still had a few doubts about his theory. "I . . . guess so, Yukki. This whole incident is strange. Let's try to figure out who the actual killer might be, if it isn't me."

She thought carefully about any possible suspects. _Who could have done it? Who has the power to erase my memory and knew to do it when Yukki would meet his parents? My last memory before the missing ones is leaving the Cathedral, and Yukki's right, I don't feel jealous or angry at all._

 _Why would they want to do it anyway? Who wants to kidnap this world's Yukki and blame that girl's death on me? They'd have to know how I feel about Yukki and that it might have been something I'd have done a long time ago._

After some thinking, she had it. Of course, the only person who could conceivably fit all those characteristics.

"Murmur One."

Yukiteru frowned in confusion. It seemed like he hadn't gotten very far in figuring it out. "What about her?"

"She's the only other person I can think of who could be the murderer."

Yukki nearly fell off the bed in surprise. Almost making Yuno laugh out loud. _He's so cute._

"What?! Murmur One?"

"She could have erased my memories without my consent. She knew about your visit to your parents and how you wouldn't be able to account for me during then.

"But what separates her from the other two Murmurs is that she's the only one who could possibly have a motive."

"Come on, Yuno. This seems a bit far-fetched, I mean, Murmur One?"

"I know, but consider this. She spent years imprisoned with my memories, you know how painful and insane they are. They probably affected her very badly."

"Murmur One said something very similar about you," said Yuki. _But she was wrong, Yuno isn't as disturbed as she said. Was . . . was she trying to keep the blame on Yuno? Did she also suggest the complete memory wipe only to make sure I wouldn't find anything out?_

 _Murmur One had also told me that making my Yuno diary would make Yuno feel uncomfortable, but that wasn't how she reacted at all. She understands Yuno really well, so she shouldn't have been wrong about that. Was Murmur One going to blame something else on Yuno? God damn it, it fits too well now that I think about it._

"You're right, Yuno. Tonight we'll talk to the other Murmurs and see what they think. Then, we'll confront Murmur One."

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from outside the house. "Yuno? Are you home?"

"Yeah, Mom!" Yuno turned to Yukki. "Quick Yukki, go to the Cathedral. There's no way she'd let me have a boy at home!" _Not only that! She might mistake him for this world's Yukki. She might have heard that he's missing._ She sighed inwardly. _Yukki makes my mind go in strange places, why would I worry about my parent's reaction to him when they might know his third world self is missing?_

"Alright, Yuno. Bye!" He gave her a quick kiss on her lips. "Love you!" Then he disappeared.

After he left, Yuno tried to calm her heartbeat and lower the blood rushing to her cheeks. Surprised, yet strangely happy at the fact that she still reacted to him this way.

 **The longest chapter in the entire fanfic so far, I hope you guys enjoyed it, I put a lot of effort into it.**

 **I guess you can consider this my Christmas gift to you, if you happen to be reading this today.**

 **Anyway, Review, Follow, and Favorite please and thanks to those of you who already have!**

 **The next chapter will be out next year.**


	8. Chapter 8: Real or Fake?

**Happy New Years!**

 **That is, if you happen to live in certain time zones.**

 **Or maybe it's a different New Year? Will anybody even be reading this by then?**

 **(It's not really New Years for me yet, I still have some hours to go. But since this fanfic just hit 1,000 views I'm releasing it early! Thanks everyone!)**

Chapter 8: Real or Fake?

"I will admit . . . Murmur One has been acting strange recently," said Murmur Two. "Whenever we're not working it seems like we can never find her."

Murmur Three answered, "Still, that doesn't mean she's the one who did all this. Although what you two have told us definitely deserves some investigation."

Yuno didn't agree. "Look, if it isn't me, it has to be Murmur One. We've concluded that I didn't kill Wakaba Moe. I have no memories of jealousy or anger towards her, and the only missing memory I have is the five or so minutes Yukki went to visit his parents, not much time to kill her and kidnap the third world's Yukki.

"She also could have easily planted pink hair near the body, her hair is the same color as mine. Which is a visible effect of how my memories have affected her. Even if I had killed Moe, and left some hair by accident, the police should have found it easily."

"Yeah, I know, we've already gone over this," answered Murmur Two. "But there's no way Murmur One would do something like that; I don't really believe what you two think about how the first world Yuno's memories could have affected her."

"Well, I've . . . experienced her memories," admitted Yukiteru. "I know how horrifying some of them are, if you knew, you wouldn't doubt how badly they could disturb someone."

"Wait, you've used telepathy with each other?" asked Murmur Two. "Don't you know how dangerous that can be?!"

"Look, that's not the issue right now. I took the risk so I could understand Yuno better." Yuki held her hand tightly. "And it paid off, I _know_ for a fact that it wasn't her, and Murmur One is the only other person with the ability and motive."

Murmur Two pointed at Yuno. "She's received the same memories as Murmur One. You think memories that drive a divine servant insane would leave this girl's mind intact? If Murmur One is insane how is Yuno sane?"

"She's sane," Yuki said with complete conviction. "I know that for sure."

Murmur Two sighed. "Fine." She then turned to her fellow Murmur. "What do you think, Murmur Three?"

Murmur Three thought for a bit. "Well, Murmur One showed some strange behavior during her imprisonment. Sometimes, she would talk to herself. Or she would start crying randomly."

Murmur Three pointed at Yuno. "And a few months ago, she seemed to have conversations with you, but they didn't seem to have any effect, so we ignored them."

"She only spoke to me right before I found Yukki," said Yuno. _That's strange. Could Murmur One have been imagining things?_

Murmur Three continued. "A while ago, Murmur One also started to watch you two constantly on a screen."

"Well, that's worrying-

Hold on a second! How do we know she isn't watching us right now?" asked Yukiteru.

"Calm down, it's alright," said Murmur Two. "Murmur Three and I asked the Observer to keep her from watching us."

Yuki was confused."Who?"

"Oh, that's right, you didn't know," recalled Murmur Two. "Akise Aru was an artificial being that Deus made to keep track of the Diary holders. Now that Deus is dead, he keeps track of them for you."

"Huh. That explains a lot," replied Yuki, thinking of Akise's fascination with the Diary holders and how he'd been able to meet with Deus. "Anyway, why would Murmur One watch Yuno and me?"

"Maybe she was jealous," answered Yuno. "If I saw you with another girl, even if it was another me, that's how I'd feel. I'd want to find a way to get rid of her and have you for myself."

The way Yuno was talking bothered Yuki but that was an issue that he'd have to solve later. "Do you think Murmur One has those kinds of feelings for me?"

"Why else would she kidnap the third world you?" asked Yuno. "She probably thinks that if she couldn't have you, she'd have to make do with any Yukki available."

This conservation just made Yuki more and more uneasy. "Yuno, do you really think Murmur One would do that?"

"I understand her situation, after all, my memories are the ones affecting her," answered Yuno. "You know how happy you make me, right, Yukki?" She hugged him tightly. "I need you and maybe she thinks she does too."

Yuno smiled at him. "But you're mine. She can have the third world's Yukki for all I care."

"We can't let her kidnap him!" yelled Yuki.

Yuno nodded. "Okay then. We'll stop her."

"What do you mean 'Okay then'? Don't you see that it's wrong to let her kill a girl and kidnap someone?" asked Yuki, disturbed by Yuno's casual response.

"I- I do." Yuno frowned. _Of course it's wrong! Why am I sympathizing with someone who'd do that?_

 _It's because I could see myself doing the same thing in her situation. If my Yukki had already been taken away, and I there was nothing I could do to get him back. I might do anything to make another Yukki love me, even kill._

 _Am I really that disturbed? That I can calmly see myself kill and kidnap people in that situation? What happened to the me before I received these memories? Before, the thought of killing would have completely repulsed me. Now . . ._

Murmur Three flew in between them. "Enough you two. Since it seems like Murmur One is responsible for the murder and kidnapping, we have to come up with a plan to confront her."

Yuki looked uncomfortably at Yuno. _Would Yuno really do the same if she were put in Murmur's situation? And that's not all, I don't like how she talks about me like I'm an object that belongs to her. Of course I want to stay with her, but we still have a lot of issues to work out._

"Yukki?" Yuno was bothered by the way he was looking at her. _Is he afraid of me?_

"Yeah?"

"You know I love you, right?" said Yuno as she fervently thought: _Please Yukki, don't be afraid. I love you, I'd never hurt you._

"Of course Yuno."

Yet as they continued to plan the confrontation, Yuno noticed that she'd done nothing to remove the look of fear and worry on Yukki's face. And the thought that she made him feel that way tortured her.

* * *

She'd be able to see Yukki soon! Her Yukki of course, not the one that had summoned her. She'd have been able to see her Yukki sooner if that Akise bastard hadn't insisted on making a report and sticking around. She'd have to make sure he didn't find out anything, he was too smart for his own good.

She hated this body that she had to use to fool them. The body of Murmur One, that Yuno had inhabited ever since Murmur had _eaten_ her and absorbed her memories.

Damn her. Murmur One had promised that Yuno would be able to be with Yukki again. But instead, she'd given her memories to the third world's Yuno!

 _And now Yukki loves her instead of me! I can't even get rid of her and take her place. How could Yukki not know that she's a fake?_

 _He's supposed to be mine!_

 _Mine!_

The thought of her other self stealing him made her blood boil. _It's okay. It's okay. I have another Yukki, when he falls in love with me everything will work out._

She sighed as she noticed something. The nagging in the back of her mind had come back. Murmur One was begging to have her body back.

 _I'm sorry Yuno, I'm sorry! I thought that giving your memories to your third world self would work!_

Murmur One was still incredibly confused about that. Why hadn't it worked? She was sure that she hadn't taken Yuno's soul inside of her. So just sending over the memories should have been enough.

Yet here she was, a prisoner of her own body. _With a psychopath as warden._

 _Don't call me that Murmur, especially if you want some time in control. Remember I haven't forgotten your screw up with the third world me by only putting my memories in her instead of my soul too._

That had been a confusing and painful time for Yuno, she'd been unable to communicate inside of Murmur One's body. Although, sometimes she could cause Murmur One to feel certain urges or emotions. For a time, Murmur One hadn't even been aware that she was still there. Her memories had been all mixed up, and she'd watched Yukki and the fake Yuno fall in love and had been unable to find a way to take her place.

 _It wasn't possible for me to give her your soul._ To herself, Murmur One thought: _This Yuno in my head has to be a product of my mind and the memories I kept safe. Otherwise-_

 _You think I can't hear you! Don't you dare think that! I have a soul! I'm real and so is my love for Yukki!_

 _Alright! Alright! I'm sorry, just please let me have my body back!_

They were approaching the room Yukki had wanted to talk to Murmur One in. When she entered, she saw Yukki, the other Murmurs, and the fakeYuno.

 _Yukki._ She wished she could hug and kiss him, and the thought that she couldn't made her want to kill the Yuno at his side. _If only I could take her place._

 _Here, Murmur._ She let Murmur have some control over her body back, for now. Yuno didn't want to see Yukki show his love for the fake Yuno. Not to mention she'd been having a hard time hiding her emotions.

 _Remember, Murmur. If you say anything about me, I'll take this body back immediately._ After giving this grave warning, Yuno started to daydream about where she would go with her Yukki on their first date.

Yuki, Yuno, and the other two Murmurs watched Murmur One fly in. They'd asked her to meet them in the room with the dead Deus's enormous throne. They were sitting in a circle, so they would give Murmur One the idea of them welcoming her. She sat down in the remaining spot.

Yuki noticed something off about her. _Did she just look at me and Yuno a bit weirdly?_

"Um, guys, if everyone's in here. Who's going to take care of the running the world?" asked Murmur One.

Yuki was uncertain, but she seemed a bit scared. _Probably just because no one's maintaining the world at the moment._ "It's fine, the world doesn't need us to monitor it constantly. We don't think this conversation will last long enough to worry about it falling apart."

"Okay, then. What do you want to talk about?" asked Murmur One.

"We've found some things that were strange about Wakaba's death," answered Yuki. "And we think that you could help give us some insight on them."

"Oh, really? What strange things did you find?" Murmur One managed to keep a straight face, yet she was actually worried out of her mind. She wanted them to help her somehow but if she said anything important Yuno, the one inside her, would take control.

"My hair was found near Wakaba's body. Or at least, hair that looked like mine." As Yuno said this, she gazed intently at Murmur One, as if signaling that she knew Murmur One was responsible.

Yuki was shocked and slightly angry. _Damn it Yuno, this wasn't the plan! Whatever, we'll continue, it won't be enough to make Murmur One do anything. I hope._

"Well, yeah, isn't that how Yukiteru figured out it was you?" Murmur One played dumb. _She knows! She knows! Maybe they all know! Crap, I have to find a way to explain it to them while inner Yuno is distracted!_

Yuki cleared his throat. "We've been thinking; don't you think it's strange that the police missed it?"

"Well, yeah, but maybe they were just incompetent." Murmur struggled to stay calm so her inner Yuno wouldn't notice anything was wrong.

Yuno spoke, choosing to follow the plan. "Also, we've determined that I had no motivation or preparation to kill her and kidnap this world's Yukki. And my only missing memory is the one around the time of her death."

"So . . . do you think someone else killed her?" Murmur One was starting to become visibly nervous now, luckily the inner Yuno was still daydreaming.

Yuki regarded Murmur One solemnly. "Why did you do it Murmur?"

"What?! I-" Murmur One immediately realized that there was no point in trying to deny it and calmed down to prevent the inner Yuno from noticing anything. "Alright, in a way, I did it. This might sound weird but give me some paper and a pencil. I might be able to tell you if I do it that way.

Yuki went to the bedroom that he and Yuno shared and looked through the desk they had there. He returned with a few sheets of paper and a pencil.

"Quick, give them to me." Murmur One immediately started writing, her rushed handwriting a bit sloppy.

 **After I'm done writing all this, quickly detain my body.**

"Try to talk normally," said Murmur One as she wrote. "You'll understand why in a little bit."

 **A Yuno personality is inside me, made of her memories.**

Everybody was frozen with shock. Yuno recovered first and started to speak. "Is this all true?"

"Yes," answered Murmur One.

 **Thought giving her memories to you would fix everything. Didn't work. Don't know why.**

Yukiteru remembered her last request as well. "That's . . . very interesting. Then what motive did you have?"

 **She's insane. Wants Yuki. Can control body. If I said this out loud she might notice and take over.**

"So that's why you're writing this instead of talking," said Yuno.

Murmur One only nodded.

 **Made me kill the girl and kidnap 3rd world Yuki. Erased Yuno's memories. Please hel-**

She dropped the pencil. The other Murmurs quickly moved and summoned a cage around her, a specially designed cage they'd planned to use if she had resisted. Similar to the one she'd been imprisoned in before.

Murmur One's body began to change. She grew taller and the rest of her body changed from the proportions of a child to that of a teenager. Her arms and legs lengthened, her torso enlarged, and her chest started to expand.

They gasped as they realized what was happening and stood frozen in shock.

Murmur One's body looked like Yuno's. Her face looked identical to hers, she had the same pigtails and bows in her hair, and she was even wearing the school uniform that Yuno usually had.

Her eyes were full of tears and pain. "Please, Yukki, let me out!"

* * *

 _Yukki._ Yuno fantasized about her first real date with him as Murmur One controlled the body and talked with the others.

Yuno felt something. _Murmur seems to be agitated about something._

 _Hmm? She's calm now. Whatever, guess it was nothing. Where should I take Yukki? It has to be far away and away from the public so we aren't seen by accident. Oh, we could go for walks in the park or-_

She noticed Murmur had been writing something and it was strangely silent. Yuno quickly read what she had written.

 _You damn bitch!_

She quickly took control of the body, in her rage, she blasted Murmur somewhere in the depths of her mind. At that moment a cage appeared around her.

 _No. Not the cage! Not again!_ She remembered all the times her parents had locked her away in a cage. As she vividly recalled those memories, she was barely aware of her transforming body.

She started to cry. Yukki! Yukki was there, he wouldn't let her suffer like this! She begged him, "Please, Yukki, let me out!"

Yuki backed away in horror. "What are you doing Murmur?!"

The imprisoned Yuno started to beat the bars with her bare hands. "I'm not Murmur, it's me Yukki! Let me out! Please, I can't stay in the cage again!" Her wild eyes fixed on him, he was her one hope.

"Yukki," the third world's Yuno had thought of a solution. "The best thing to do would be to erase the memories Murmur to eliminate the personality in her. That way she'll be-

"Shut up! I'm the real Yuno, you imposter! You might have my memories but not my soul!" She continued beating the cage.

"Yukki, the first world's Yuno is dead. There's no way her soul could be inside of Murmur One."

"I-I-," stuttered Yukki. _I'm sick of being an indecisive weakling. I have to do somethng!_ He looked "You two, find some other way to keep Murmur One from escaping, and let her out of the cage!"

As the Murmurs summoned dark arms out of the ground and prepared to open the cage, the imprisoned Yuno destroyed her prison and quickly flew away, using Murmur One's powers.

She laughed maniacally. _I'm free again!_ As she flew, she summoned dozens of black missiles and fired them at the two Murmurs and the other Yuno.

Yuki quickly chased after her, but she had too much of a head start for him to catch up. _Where is she going? I'll be able to catch her eventually, so what's her plan?_

 _What the hell is going on? Am I chasing Yuno or has Murmur One lost her mind? And what should I do if it turns out to be Yuno?_

 _Stop. I can't think about that right now. I have to focus._

The insane Yuno opened a hole in space and time.

 _That's how she plans to escape! I have to stop her!_ He quickly racked his brain in desperation. _How can I stop her?_

"Don't leave Yuno! I love you!"

That made the insane Yuno turn around and smile. Her crazed eyes wide with joy. _He still loves me!_ "I love you too, Yukki! I promise, I'll be back for you!"

At that she went through and the hole closed.

 _Damn, it didn't work._

 _Oh no! Yuno and the others!_

He quickly flew back to the others. There was dust everywhere. "Yuno, Murmur Two, Murmur Three! Are you okay?"

They emerged unscathed from the dust.

"We're fine Yukki!" yelled Yuno.

He quickly flew down to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy you're safe Yuno."

* * *

She sat down, breathing heavily. The insane Yuno had already used a lot of Murmur One's powers. She was back in the room where she kept the third world's Yukki drugged. Yet, she didn't receive the same joy she usually did every time she saw him.

Maybe that was because she was already happy. _Yukki said he loved me! The Yukki that had been mine in the beginning! I have to be with him, somehow get rid of the other Yuno._

She looked over at the third world's Yukki. She didn't need him anymore.

She sighed. She should have known. She thought of the second world's Yukki.

 _You're the only for me._

 **Longer chapters seem to be the trend here.**

 **By the way guys, the next chapter might come sooner if you review. I don't mind if you say my story is terrible as long as you tell me why.**

 **Favorites and follows might speed my writing up too. But don't do it just because you want the next chapter sooner, only do it if you think my fanfic deserves it. (Although, if you want the next chapter more quickly, don't you think my fanfic deserves a favorite and follow?)**

 **And yes, I have no shame.**

 **I understand if you think badly of me. Using incentives (although they're only really incentives if you want more chapters) to rake in more reviews, follows, and favorites.**

 **What can I say? I want some ego-boosting. And the ability to write a story you guys will enjoy.**

 **Anyway the, long, probably boring author's note is almost at an end.**

 **Next chapter in four or so days. (But maybe sooner depending on you!)**


	9. Chapter 9: Neglect

**I did get some reviews, favorites, and follows. Although not as much as I'd hoped. Even so, here's the chapter a day earlier than promised, but only for the people who did what I asked!**

 **Just kidding, it goes out to everyone equally. (Unfortunately)**

Chapter 9: Neglect

Yuki looked at the remains of the cage they'd planned to confine Murmur One in. The top portion had a hole gouged out of it, and when Murmur One, or rather, the Yuno personality in her had flown away, the bars on the sides had crumpled like paper.

"I should have kept her in there," said Yuki regretfully. "Instead, I took pity on her and told you two to let her out. I'm such an idiot."

Yuno started to speak. "No, Yukki, it's not your fault."

Murmur Two flew in front of him, covering his view of the destroyed cage. "Yuno's right. We didn't let her out, she _broke_ out."

"What? But I thought you two said it would confine her?" asked Yukiteru.

"It should have been able to," said Murmur Three. "I don't understand how she managed it. She was desperate to escape, but I wouldn't have thought she had that much power."

"Well, when we find her, we won't underestimate her again," said Yuno. "Will erasing Murmur One's memories help her?"

"It should, but the Yuno personality is probably going to be on guard for that," answered Murmur Three. "Erasing memories isn't as easy when the person is aware you're trying to erase their memories. In fact, you two should probably get some protection too, so she doesn't try to do it to you two."

"That's probably for the best, what about you and Murmur Two?" asked Yuki. _Erasing memories probably won't work if Yuno's soul is really in there. What will I do if she is?_

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," replied Murmur Two. Murmur Three nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, do it," demanded Yuno as she angrily thought of how the Yuno personality had erased her memories. _She won't be able to use that trick again. Now, Yukki will trust me! And I won't start doubting myself._

It only took a few minutes for the Murmurs to teach them how to protect themselves in case someone tried to erase their memories by helping them set up mental barriers.

As they finished, Yuno realized something. "Oh, Yukki. I remember now! My memories aren't missing anymore!"

"Really? So what memories did she erase?" asked Yukki curiously.

Yuno almost laughed as she remembered. There was no loss of sanity, no killing, no kidnapping, none of the things that she'd feared before. "I just went to go see my parents. When we went to go see the stars, I hadn't told them where I would be going. I'd just left a note saying I'd be out for a couple of days.

"It's pretty funny when I think about it. When I came back, my parents were so worried and told me they'd been out of their minds looking for me! I'd forgotten to bring my phone so they couldn't call me, and then they started to give me a lecture on how running away was dangerous and demanded to know where I'd been.

"I just remember their reaction when I told them 'I was with my boyfriend'. My dad was about to start running around town to find you! And my mom was tearing up and muttering something about children growing up too quickly. I'd forgotten that I'd promised them I wouldn't start dating until high school, so their reactions really surprised me. Anyway, I just altered their memories a bit so they'd think I'd been home the whole time and made them forget what I said about you."

Yuki laughed in relief. _I can't believe it! When we'd found out her memories were missing, I'd thought that she'd gone crazy again._

Murmur Two looked at a nearby clock which read 00:23. "You two should go to sleep, it's getting pretty late. Besides, don't you have school tomorrow Yuno?"

"Shouldn't we search for Murmur One instead?" Getting sleep wasn't a big priority for Yuki at the moment.

"Don't worry, Murmur Two and I will look for clues."

"Yeah, Yukki, I'm sleepy. Let's go to bed together!" Yuno grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to their bedroom.

"Wait Yuno! Wait!" Yuki couldn't escape from her grasp. _Damn it, she's too strong!_ "I think helping them find Murmur One is more important right now. I'll go to you after we've made some progress."

"Oh." Yuno had wanted to stay with him for the entire night, but she guessed that finding Murmur One was more important right now. "O-Okay then Yukki. I'll be waiting." She gently kissed him.

Yukki pulled away sooner than she'd wanted. She tried to follow his lips as he pulled back, but he held her firmly.

"Good night Yuno." He said and he went with the other Murmurs to investigate.

As Yuno went to their bedroom, after she had brushed her teeth and changed her clothes, she lay in the bed.

It felt lonely without Yukki.

* * *

Yuki and the Murmurs spent the next few hours trying to find clues.

First, they went to the sphere that Murmur One had stayed in and found it completely empty. The last time Murmur Three had been there, there had been snacks, a bed and various other belongings. When they entered it, they found nothing.

After leaving the sphere, they accessed the Akashic Records and found some moments when Murmur One had been acting suspiciously. They saw her follow Yuno as she left the Cathedral when Yuki had visited his parents, and there were times when she opened holes in space and entered them. No matter what they did, they couldn't find out where they went. They could only see her return some time later the same way. Yuki's guilt for not being able to help Murmur One worsened. _We could have helped her a lot sooner if we'd just paid attention._

There had also been a few times when she'd return with body identical to Yuno's. Yuki had trouble watching those portions, even on the screen, he could tell how insane she was. Those crazed eyes were a familiar, but unwelcome sight. As he watched, he unintentionally thought of the Yuno sleeping in his room. _No! She isn't like that! Not anymore! She's sane!_

Yet he couldn't help but think of certain moments when he'd seen signs of similar behavior. Especially when the Yuno personality had transformed Murmur One's body and pleaded with Yuki. At that moment, the third world Yuno's eyes had lit up in anger and possessiveness, he'd feared a return to the old days when he'd try to calm her down.

After he had forced that image out of his head, they continued searching, but there were no clues as to her or the third world Yukiteru's whereabouts.

"Yuki, we're tired. It's three in the morning! We haven't found anything and I'm starting to get cranky." Murmur Two rubbed her eyes. "I need some sleep."

"Me too," said Murmur Three.

Yuki was tired as well. He almost felt like giving up, the Yuno personality in Murmur One had covered her tracks too well. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that she'd been so careful that she might not have even left tracks to cover up. He definitely wouldn't make any progress when he was this tired.

He relented. "Fine, let's sleep."

The Murmurs went off to their own beds while Yuki made his way to Yuno.

She lay there so peacefully, he felt so happy just looking at her. He lowered his head and kissed her on the cheek.

After a few minutes to change and use the bathroom, he entered the bed next to Yuno and tried to sleep as the image of the insane Yuno personality haunted him.

* * *

Yuno had only been pretending to sleep. It wasn't that difficult to stay awake, she was worried about Yukki. It seemed like the incident with Murmur One had really unnerved him.

Her heart fluttered as Yukki kissed her cheek, and she waited patiently for him to lie down beside her.

But when he did, he stayed on his side of the bed. Normally, they cuddled when they slept together, in fact that was why she enjoyed sleeping with him so much. Not necessarily making love, just sleeping. She treasured the closeness they had at those times.

She wanted to move closer to him, but she got the feeling that Yukki didn't want her to right now. So she tried to be happy with just sleeping in the same bed with him.

Yuno's last thoughts as her consciousness faded were of what Yukki had said to Murmur One before she'd escaped. _He didn't really mean it when he said he loved the insane Yuno, right?_

The week after the discovery of the Yuno personality in Murmur One was becoming the worst in Yuno's life.

She admitted to herself that she was exaggerating. Still, it had been a rough week.

Ever since the night Murmur One had escaped, Yukki had been completely focused on finding her, hardly giving Yuno any time with him. And even when she was with him, he'd act distant and cold.

In fact, the day after Murmur One's disappearance, Yukki had fixed the throne room and kept working with the Murmurs to look for clues. Yuno had helped him, but practically the only time he'd talked to her was when he'd asked her for insight on the insane Yuno personality.

That night, he didn't really talk to her as they prepared to sleep. He hadn't ignored her, and when she'd kissed him he'd responded. But when they slept he just stayed on his side of the bed.

The next few days hadn't been any better. During the day, he'd have Akise go in town to investigate and followed him through the screens. In fact, two days ago, while investigating possible hiding places, Yukki had told her that she could go home if she wanted to. At the time she'd worriedly wondered: _Doesn't he want me near him anymore?_ That thought still worried her.

That night he hadn't even come to bed. If he'd slept, it certainly hadn't been in their room.

She hated how they were drifting apart. The fake Yuno had ruined everything!

It had also been a bad start for the school year. Yuno couldn't help it, she was busy trying to find ways to get closer to Yukki. Her parents had no idea what was going on and her friends had tried and failed to cheer her up.

Now, she was with Yukki in the Cathedral. She had no idea how to fix their relationship, but she had to talk to him.

"Yukki?" asked Yuno meekly.

He turned to her "Yeah?"

"Why won't you spend more time with me? I understand that you're looking for Murmur One, but don't you think it's time to take a break?"

He shook his head. "We have to find her."

"But why? I mean, sure she's our friend, but we haven't had any luck finding her so far. We haven't made much progress either. I mean, the Yuno personality won't hurt Murmur One, and we'll catch her if she attacks anyone else, right? You don't have to keep working."

"It isn't just that," answered Yuki. "She still has the third world's Yuki locked up. And . . . I have to know whether it's really Yuno or not."

"It isn't Yukki!" Yuno was shocked by what he just said. "It's just a personality made of my memories!" _Even if that version of me really does have her soul, I can't let her steal him!_

"But what if her soul really is in Murmur One's body?" asked Yukki. "What do we do if it really is her? How will we help Murmur One? Will we have to kill the other you inside her?"

"I don't know Yukki. But . . . why does that matter? Do you love me or the Yuno that might be in Murmur One? Is it her that you want?" Yuno wasn't sure she wanted the answer to that question. _Please, please let him love me!_

Yukiteru answered, hesitating for only a moment. "No! I love you Yuno!" However, he actually wasn't sure how he felt about the Yuno personality or what he would do if her soul really was there.

"Then why did you say that you loved her before she ran away?!"

He immediately regretted his failed attempt at stopping the Yuno personality from escaping. "You misunderstood Yuno! I only said it to try and stop her."

His response gave her much reassurance. _Oh, I'm so happy! He really does only love me! But if that's true, then why . . ._ "Then why won't you look at me?" asked Yuno.

"What do you mean? I am looking at you."

"You are looking at me, but not the way you used to. It's been like that this whole week! Why won't you talk to me like we used to anymore? Why won't you kiss me, or hug me, or hold me when we sleep?"

Yuno was right, he had been acting coldly towards her. He still loved her, but now, whenever he was with her he was uneasy. He couldn't help but think of the insane Yuno in Murmur One. The way she obsessed over him, the insane desperation that would make her do anything, he couldn't help but see traces of the same behavior in the Yuno right in front of him.

Yet, strangely enough, he didn't see it now. Or rather he saw how they didn't matter right now. Right now, he saw the girl who loved him, who wanted to be with him. The one he wanted to make happy.

The one he was hurting.

"Yuno, I want you to take a look at this." Yukiteru walked behind her and gave her his phone. Then, he wrapped his arms around her, just above her waist.

This was what she'd wanted! _Finally, it's going to be like before!_ She opened it and looked at the entries. "Your diary . . ."

"It's not a Yuno diary anymore. I don't need it anymore. I completely trust you."

"Oh, alright, Yukki." It was nice of him to show her this, she wanted his trust back. But she wished that he still wanted it to check up on her.

"Yuno. When you first saw this you said that you wished that I'd made this because I love you, right?" whispered Yuki, right into her ear. "Why do you think this would show my love for you, isn't it an invasion of privacy?"

"It's just . . . I thought that if you loved me, you'd want to know how I was doing from time to time. Like how I kept track of you with my diary or followed you."

"But Yuno, I don't need a diary for that. Being with you and seeing how you're doing in person is a lot better than reading about it on my phone. Don't you think so?"

"Yeah, it is much better." Yuno started to blush.

"So I'd rather be with you than have a diary tell me about you."

"I understand Yukki."

"Yuno. I know I've been distant this past week, and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I keep failing to make you happy."

"No Yukki, you aren't failing." She turned around and hugged him tightly. She put her head on his shoulder. "I'm happiest when I'm with you."

"Thank you for saying that." He looked in her eyes. "It's just . . . this whole incident with Murmur One has shaken me and strained our relationship.

"But that isn't fair to you Yuno, you deserve to be loved. You deserve happiness." Yuki stopped for a moment and kissed her. "And I'll give it to you, as much as you want."

Right now, Yuno thought that she was as happy as she could possibly be. "I'm already happy Yukki!"

She pressed her lips to his. As his tongue started to touch her lips, she opened her mouth to let him in. _He's so eager! I'm so glad I make him feel this way._

He pulled back and started to kiss her neck. Yuno felt a wonderful burning sensation whenever his lips connected with her neck. She giggled happily.

Yuki was totally focused on Yuno's body, and her giggling just excited him more. "Come on!" He pulled her along to the bedroom.

Yuno followed along with a big smile on her face, anticipating what he was going to do. "Oh, Yukki! It's been so long!"

They practically ripped each other's clothes off. This would be their second time making love since coming to this world. It was different this time, they were much less timid and let their instincts take over. Touching each other wherever felt right, using their mouths and hands. Both seeking to pleasure themselves but considering it more important to pleasure each other.

Each time they reached climax they would look in each other's eyes and yell out each other's name. As a teenage boy, it didn't take too long for Yukki to recover. And while he did so he could focus on pleasuring Yuno. When he finally recovered, Yuno would do her best to draw out his orgasm slowly in return. Making sure he thoroughly enjoyed it.

They didn't leave their bed until a few hours later, and did so only to go in the shower.

They washed each other off. Yuno laughing at Yuki's embarrassment, considering what they'd just done. After a while, they emerged clean and with big grins on their faces.

Yuno decided that they should go back to bed.

"We're only going to sleep right?" asked Yuki, not really minding if she said otherwise.

"Of course, Yukki! I'm not a sex maniac!" Yuno smiled. _Finally, we'll cuddle in bed again just like we used to!_

Yuki followed her as she eagerly ran back to their room and jumped in the bed. He lay down and position himself so her back touched his chest.

Suddenly, she grabbed his left hand. "Yuno!" He yelled as she firmly put it on her breast.

She giggled. "I know you like my chest, Yukki. It's fine, I don't think you'll get hard again after what we just did for a while."

Yuki quickly turned off the light so Yuno wouldn't be able to see him blush. "Alright."

"Good night, Yukki." _This is where I belong._ She thought happily.

"Good night, Yuno, I love you," whispered Yuki. Yet he still worried about their future and the insane Yuno personality. _It'll be okay, whatever problems come up, we'll solve them together._

"I love you too," replied Yuno as she fell asleep.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Think of me as a machine that turns reviews, favorites, and follows into chapters. The more I get, the more I'll write.**

 **Anyway, shoutout to BrendaAguilar who I'm very grateful to for her reviews and motivation.**

 **I'm going to focus on Yuno and Yuki's relationship for a bit, although Murmur One/Insane Yuno will make an appearance the next chapter. I don't want to gloss over the problems their relationship: Yuno's insecurity, Yuki's feelings about the possible Yuno in Murmur One, Yuno's instability from the memories of her first world self, etc. I don't think I'll be able to fix all that in a few chapters, but that's why I've made it a separate focus in the story.**

 **I won't be able to get the next chapter out sooner than three days from now. But don't let that stop you from doing the big three!**

 **Favoriting**

 **Following**

 **Reviewing**

 **(Order in greatest to least importance)**


	10. Chapter 10: True Love

**Here it is! This is the earliest I could get this chapter out** _ **and**_ **write it so it would be good enough to post.**

 **Enjoy.**

Chapter 10: True Love

"Good morning, Yukki!" said Yuno.

Yuki slowly got up from his bed, rubbing his eyes. "Huh?"

"Wake up, sleepy!" Yuno was already dressed for school, but she was still with Yukki in their bedroom. She'd planned to get to her house before her parents realized she hadn't spent the night there. This had become pretty routine for her, spending the night with Yukki and then quickly returning home in the morning.

However, this time, she decided to spend the morning with him.

"Yuno?" Yukiteru glanced at the clock. It was 7:45. "Aren't you usually home by this time? What if your parents find out?"

"It'll be okay. I want to be with you right now." When her parents found out she wasn't there, she'd just go home and alter their memories.

"Alright, thanks Yuno."

A few minutes later, Yuki got dressed and they went to their kitchen. They'd made it to look like the kitchen in Yuki's house. Although he'd removed any pictures or reminders of his family.

Apparently, Yuno had already prepared breakfast for the both of them. Rice, omelets, miso soup, and some natto. It smelled and looked great and Yuki said so.

Yuno blushed slightly. "Thanks."

As they ate, Yuno mostly just took small bites and watched Yukki. They hadn't eaten breakfast together like this in a while, not since the school year had started. It was nice.

"Yuno, you should eat more. It's delicious."

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm not that hungry." Yuno said as she ate some rice to please him.

"In this world, you're friends with Hinata, Mao, and Kousaka right?" asked Yuki.

"Yeah."

"How are they?"

"Oh, well, they aren't really that different from the way they were in the second world," started Yuno. She continued to tell him about her friends. Momentarily, she felt some guilt at having tricked him into killing them in the second world, but she ignored it. _I wouldn't do that now._

She told him about Hinata's struggle with her grades and how Mao kept track of her "growth". There had been more than a few times Yuno had caught Mao taking pictures when Hinata wasn't looking, which made Yukki laugh.

Yuno continued with tales of Kousaka's antics. He was incredibly clumsy, seemingly always managing to break something. Such as a recent incident during home economics class when he'd dropped dozens of plates while trying to carry them all at once. Although, since his family always paid for any damages, he didn't seem too bothered about it.

Yuno broke off in the middle of another story when she noticed the time. It was 8:15, she sighed, it always seemed like her time with Yukki was so short. "Sorry, Yukki, I have to go."

"Oh, you know what, I'll come with you." He found a pair of sunglasses, and put them on along with a light, hooded jacket. "I don't think anyone will recognize me if I go like this, right?"

Yukki would be coming with her! "Sure, sure, let's go!" She quickly grabbed her bag and pulled him along. They would have to go to her house first.

When they arrived, she let go of his hand. "Umm . . . Yukki, you should probably hide around the corner. I don't think my parents will like it if a strange boy walks me here."

"Oh, right."

When she was sure her parents wouldn't be able to see him, she entered and found her parents right in front of the door. Her dad saw her first. "Yuno! Where have you been? You-

There, now they would think she actually had stayed home. Yuno started to walk back out the door, "I'm going to school now."

"Bye Yuno," said her dad. Forgetting what he'd just said and believing it had been a normal morning.

Her mother did likewise, "Goodbye, Yuno."

Yuno walked out. "It's all good now, Yukki. Let's go!"

She grabbed his hand and they walked to her school. She decided to take a different route from the one she would normally take, the longest route possible. She treasured her time with Yukki, and this way, there wouldn't be any awkwardness if one of her friends saw her with an unknown guy.

"Yuno, I've been thinking, I'd like to go to school too."

"Really, Yukki?" asked Yuno. She thought school was pretty boring, although she guessed that was the case for most kids. But for her, it wasn't as much of a necessity, her future with Yukki was already set. _Although, I'd be able to spend a lot more time with him if he goes too._

Yuki continued, "I've been looking for schools in towns pretty far from here. Maybe I could find some foster parents and become part of the community. After we deal with Murmur One."

"Right," answered Yuno dejectedly. _I'm such an idiot, of course Yukki wouldn't be able to go school with me, there would be two of him._ "Yukki, why do you want to go to school when we're gods?"

"I just want to have a normal life with you," answered Yuki. "And find new friends." He watched Yuno very carefully when he said that, remembering how she'd reacted in the last world to him making new friends. "We've had enough excitement for a lifetime with the survival game and the other you in Murmur One. I just want to be a kid for a bit, not having to worry about anything important."

"Oh, well I'd be happy to help you with that then!" replied Yuno. In the back of her mind, she worried. _What if he meets another girl? And he starts to like her-_

 _No, no, he'll only love me! No other girl will have the same bond I have with him!_

 _Right?_

Yuki saw that they were approaching the school. "Let's stop here," he said, before anybody would notice them. Before letting go of her hand, he asked "Can I talk to you tonight? It's about something very important."

She smiled. "Of course Yukki."

 _Good._ "See you tonight Yuno." Yuki kissed her and walked away while waving back to her.

"Bye." She waved back.

He entered an alley, so no one would see him disappear, and immediately reappeared in the Cathedral.

 _It seems like Yuno is getting better._ He went to their room and took out a small notebook that he had been hiding in a secret compartment in one of their drawers. He didn't want Yuno to find this. This was his _actual_ Yuno diary. It wasn't a future diary, no instead he wrote in it whenever he felt it was necessary, whenever he felt their relationship was at stake.

He'd kept it ever since they'd first entered the third world after seeing Yuno threaten to kill Murmur Two back in the second world. _That was when I realized that she was still Yuno._ Yuno, he loved her, but she still tended to act violently. He had accepted that, it was a part of her. And Yuki didn't want to admit it to himself, but in a way, he admired her when she was like that. Calm, confident, and efficient; at those times he was amazed by her strength.

But not always, at times her killing had been frantic and desperate. Those times had been frightening. Such as when she'd threatened to kill Hinata and abandon his friends to their deaths, when Yuno had been scared that he'd leave her.

He believed that even though Yuno was really good at killing, she didn't actually enjoy it. The only times she'd killed or had tried to was for survival or for him.

For him. Too much of her killing had been for him. And he had spent far too much time on the sidelines merely watching her instead of helping her.

He didn't want her to kill anyone anymore, she was a god, she wouldn't have to fight for survival. And he'd make sure she wouldn't kill because of him, although he feared that no matter what he did she might try to eliminate any threats she saw to their relationship.

It was why it had been so easy for him, at first, to believe that she could have killed Wakaba Moe.

A lot of this was already recorded in his diary, he glanced through the previous entries. The purpose of this diary was different, it was to record any signs of trouble he saw with Yuno. The very first entry was her reaction to his possible death while creating a new second world.

He should have paid more attention to that instead of thinking that everything was fine now that they came to this world.

These entries were written when he had thought Yuno had killed Wakaba-san. He read them over.

 _ **September 2**_ _ **nd**_

 _ **I can't believe it. Yuno killed Wakaba-san. Why? Is she still insane? I thought we'd fixed everything.**_

How naïve of him, thinking he'd be able to help Yuno only by kissing and making love. His lack of faith in her certainly also hadn't helped.

 _ **September 4**_ _ **th**_

 _ **I asked the Murmurs and I think I have a way to help Yuno. It's risky, but I have to do this.**_

 _At least I'd taken some initiative then,_ thought Yuki. _Even if it was dangerous, it paid off in the end. We discovered that Yuno wasn't the killer._ He read the next entries for that day.

 _ **Murmur One has a Yuno inside her! I don't know whether it's actually her or not. What do I do if it is?**_

 _ **When this world's Yuno saw her, she got that look in her eyes. I think she would have stabbed the Yuno personality if it hadn't been in Murmur One's body.**_

He read the next entry in shame.

 _ **September 9**_ _ **th**_

 _ **Yuno's been really helpful in looking for Murmur One. Still, I can't help being a bit afraid of her. The Yuno personality is truly insane and this Yuno, I'm not sure what I can do anymore. She's murderous and violent too.**_

 _I'm such an idiot. I was hurting her and starting to give up on being able to help her. After all she's done for me, that would have been the most cowardly thing I could have done. Yuno needs my help and a month after reuniting with her, I was about to be a greedy bastard and take her love without giving back what she needed!_ His fists tightened in anger and self-loathing.

The next entry was much less depressing. He had written about how he had been able to comfort her. The only real problem being that the thought of him leaving her was alarmingly still present in Yuno's mind. In fact, this diary was starting to look like a list of all the times he'd hurt Yuno.

He decided to change that and began writing today's entry.

 _ **September 11**_ _ **th**_

 _ **Yuno and I spent the morning together, which was nice, we hadn't done that for a while. She seemed really happy, especially when I decided to walk her to school today.**_

Yuki smiled. _At least I'm starting to do something right, and I didn't make the mistake of thinking that everything was okay again._

 _ **But when I told Yuno about going to school in a town far away from here, she seemed a bit upset. Does she see me making new friends as a threat to our love?**_

Well, he guessed he'd have to bring that up tonight as well.

He was dreading the conversation they would have. Almost certainly, it would be very emotional, and if he messed up he could seriously hurt Yuno.

 _I can't do that again._

* * *

 _It's okay if Yukki wants friends. It's okay if Yukki wants friends._ Yuno mentally repeated it as she sat at home trying to do homework. She couldn't give in to her impulses. She had to respect his wishes.

The friends he'd make, even if they were nice people, even if they wouldn't mean to they would steal him from her! _No! No!_ _I can't let that happen!_ What could she do though?

 _Please Yukki, let whatever new friends you make only be other boys!_ She suddenly remembered Akise Aru. She amended her wish to only other straight men.

But, but what if he met another girl? And Yukki started talking to her instead of Yuno while he was at a different school?

 _No! I should trust Yukki! He loves me._

 _Maybe I can just convince him to stay away from other people and keep him all to myself._

 _Then . . . what would be the difference between me and the insane Yuno personality? I can't be like her. And I can't be selfish like I was before._

Her parents called her down for dinner and she ate with them and tried to act normal.

After that, she immediately left, saying that she had to go meet a friend. Luckily, her mother decided not to enforce her curfew today.

 _Maybe I can just ask Yukki to wait before he decides. That's not too much to ask of him, right?_

 _I shouldn't worry so much. After all, Yukki wants me to be with him right now._

"I'm here Yukki," said Yuno as she entered the Cathedral. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Yuki was a bit nervous on how to begin as he held his hands behind his back. "Here Yuno." He held out a bouquet of roses, half of them were red, symbolizing his love for her. And the rest were pink, the same shade as her hair, to show how he trusted her.

"Oh, Yukki!" Yuno immediately grabbed them and kissed him. "What for?"

"I just wanted to show you I love you," answered Yukki. "And . . . well, you'll see." With an uneasy smile he answered, "Tonight, just remember that I love you."

"Okay!" She quickly carried the flowers away. "Let me find a place to put these in." _Yukki's so sweet, he got me flowers!_

"Just meet me in our room." _It worked, Yuno's in a good mood, but I don't think that's going to last for long._

Yuno quickly entered her house and found a vase, which she quickly filled with water and the roses. She decided to place them on her desk. _Thank you Yukki. If I'm ever sad, I'll have these to cheer me up._ She returned to the Cathedral immediately, the task had only taken a few moments.

When she entered the room she hugged Yukki. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Yuno . . ." He separated from her. "I'm going to warn you; our conversation probably won't be a happy one. I want to talk about some problems that we have."

"That's fine Yukki. I'm sure it'll be okay since I'm with you," said Yuno. _But what problems is he talking about?_

"Here, sit down." Yuki gestured towards one of the two mats on the floor. They both sat in them, facing each other. "First, do you remember what you said when you put me in the dream-world?" asked Yuki.

"That . . . that I would have fallen in love with anyone as long as I could use them for emotional support?" replied Yuno. "Yukki, I didn't mean that. I just said it to try to make you stay there."

"Even if you didn't mean it, it was the truth, wasn't it?" _It's a horrible truth though._ "And that can't be a basis for our relationship. Which is why I have to . . ." He trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"What are you going to do? Leave me?" Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "Because you think my love for you is fake?"

"No! No!" _I hate this, I don't want to make Yuno cry._ He reached over, wiped her tears away, and held her hands _._ "Your love for me isn't fake, I know that. And I won't leave you. This is just something we have to confront and move past.

"Yuno, we have to accept this. At first, you fell in love with me because I was your emotional support. And, at first, I fell in love with you because you protected me."

"I didn't fall in love with you just for emotional support, Yukki. I . . . I had seen you around school before and started to like you even before we met. My suggestion to become your bride didn't come out of nowhere."

That was a bit of a surprise. "Still, can you honestly say that you felt the same way about me before I made that promise as you felt after?"

Yuno hesitated before speaking again. "Please, Yukki, I don't want to talk about this."

He held her to comfort her. "Just a little bit more Yuno, and we'll move on, this is a big problem with our relationship. We shouldn't push it off to the side anymore."

"Okay." _Yukki's just trying to make our relationship better, I shouldn't stop him._ "Did you really only love me because I protected you?"

"That was only how I felt in the beginning. Look, even if our love has doubtful origins, it doesn't matter anymore, I know that you do really love me and I couldn't resist falling in love with you after I got to know you."

"Really?" asked Yuno hopefully.

"Of course! Yuno you're smart, I can't remember the number of times I acted like an idiot, but you were always steps ahead of me. And it's amazing how calm and confident you can be when you're in your element. Usually, all I could do was step back and watch you in awe." _And sometimes fear. But that's not important right now._

"Yuno, you're beautiful, especially when you laugh and smile. Your happy and sweet side was part of why I fell for you. Like during our date at the amusement park, or the wedding rehearsal we did. But when I learned what you had gone through, I realized how difficult it had been for you to keep smiling and laughing."

While Yuki declared his love for her, Yuno's heart raced. _When he first said he loved me, when we first made love, I was too happy and relieved to wonder why. Too happy to question it._ She was reminded of other times she had reacted the same way. _It had been like that in the beginning of the survival game when I was happy for Yukki to use me however he wanted. Or when he first said I was his girlfriend, even though he didn't feel that way about me yet._

 _And now I know, this is why Yukki loves me! Oh Yukki, you have no idea how happy this makes me! Although, you're wrong about one thing. It wasn't difficult for me to laugh and smile when I was with you._

"Yuno, I wanted to make you smile and laugh more. I still do, and I'm sorry for all the times I've hurt you." He stopped speaking, he was so angry at himself for treating her the way he had, but it was eclipsed by the grief and guilt he felt for all the pain he'd inflicted on her. "I'm sorry I called you crazy and made you cry when the Sixth manipulated me. I'm sorry I had such a hard time trusting you. I'm sorry I used you to survive. I'm sorry that the first time I told you what you wanted to hear was I lie."

Yuki put his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry that I slapped you. Even though what you did was wrong, I shouldn't have done that. I should have found a way to help you instead of running away in fear. I'm sorry I made you cry during our last days together in the second world. I'm sorry I gave you so little love during the game. I'm sorry for all the times I've hurt you in this world. For not believing in you when Wakaba was killed, for neglecting you when the other Yuno appeared, for making you cry just a minute ago."

Yuki chuckled but he felt tears fall down his cheeks. "I'm sorry I have so many things to apologize for. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-

Yuno cut him off with a kiss. "It's alright Yukki. Don't think so badly of yourself. You said you want to make me smile and laugh, to make me happy, right?"

He nodded.

"Then don't be sad anymore, Yukki. Don't talk about these things right now." She hugged him tightly, on the verge of tears. "Because if you're sad, I'll be sad, okay?" She brought her hand to her chest. "It hurts me when I see you beating yourself up like this."

She forced a believable smile to cheer him up. "Besides, I have plenty to apologize for too. I was very selfish in the second world. I didn't respect your wishes; I only saw the violent solutions and executed them, instead of listening to what you wanted. I tricked you into killing your friends, and I almost killed you."

Yuno thought of something. "Let's forgive each other. Actually, why don't you just forgive me? Because I already forgive you."

"I forgive you too," said Yuki.

"Yay! Then come with me!" She pulled his arm to her chest and pulled him up.

"Huh, where are we going?"

"You're so mean Yukki," joked Yuno. "Talking about such sad things. We need to cheer ourselves up! I want to go on a date with you, and I heard that there's a good movie playing in a nearby theater. Let's go get tickets!"

"Oh . . . um okay." _There was more we needed to talk about though._ He was about to try to continue their talk, until he saw how Yuno smiling and laughing. _I guess it will be fine if we talk more later._

He summoned up whatever enthusiasm he could. "Sure! Sound fun! I hope it's not a horror movie."

Yuno's smile widened. "Don't worry, it's a comedy. I'll help you keep your promise about making me smile and laugh."

* * *

"Oh, Yukki." The insane Yuno personality in Murmur One's body, still identical to Yuno, watched Yukki confess his love to the third world's Yuno, the imposter. _So that's how he feels about me. Oh, silly Yukki, you're confused, you're saying it to the wrong Yuno. Don't worry though, I'll come quickly so you can say it to the real me!_

 _You'll definitely forgive me for everything once you see what I've done!_

"Yukki. Yukki." She muttered his name as she continued to watch him. _You really are the only one for me. Hey Yukki, when I bring you here, will you compliment the real me on how smart I am? The Murmurs and the fake Yuno definitely won't be able to steal you back from this place!_

She stopped watching when the other Yuno started to kiss him, and turned a light on and continued making the hideout into a home for her and Yukki. The room she was in was already the same as the one Yukki was in. Now she just needed to finish the rest of it.

 **Great! Yuno and Yuki's first step towards a stable relationship has begun! But it'll be a bumpy ride.**

 **If you guys haven't followed or favorited my story yet, I doubt there's any point in continuing to ask you to do. But I'll do it anyway. Please favorite and follow.**

 **Also, don't forget to review.**

 **Next chapter out soon, since it's the weekend, I'll probably get it out quickly.**


	11. Chapter 11: Lost and Found

**Sorry guys, I'd meant to upload this yesterday, but I didn't have the time. But I hope you enjoy the long chapter!**

Chapter 11: Lost and Found

The Observor, Akise Aru, walked to the police station. Two weeks ago, he'd started helping the police look for the missing boy Amano Yukiteru.

Although that was to be expected, since a rogue divine servant had kidnapped him. Honestly, he didn't expect the police to be able to do much. Although he couldn't really blame them, his own investigations with the assistance of the Murmurs hadn't found anything either.

Unfortunately, some of the police believed that Amano was missing because he had killed Wakaba Moe and fled. Of those working on the case, only Nishijima and Akise knew the truth.

He sighed. _Maybe I made a mistake when I helped Gasai-san meet with Murmur One. She certainly doesn't seem completely sane anymore. Although, she's completely overshadowed by the personality in Murmur One. That's a whole different level of crazy._

 _Although, Yuki-kun is very happy when he's with her. At least something good came out of my decision, whether or not it was the right one._

Akise's phone started ringing. "Hmm?" He picked it up.

It was Nishijima-san. "Akise-kun, Akise-kun! Quick! Tell them! We found Amano Yukiteru, he's in the police station right now!"

"Really?" asked Akise. This was a huge development.

"Yes! Go quickly!"

"Okay, I'll go right now," said Akise. _What the hell is going on? Has this world's Yukiteru escaped somehow? We have to get a hold of him and find out where the insane Yuno personality went!_

He found a bathroom in a nearby store. Since only his mind was able to enter the Cathedral, he would need to find a place to put his unconscious body. He arrived the Cathedral of Causality, appearing in front of the huge throne as he usually did. Both Murmurs were here, but where were Yukiteru and Gasai?

"Where are they?" asked Akise.

"Well if by _they_ ," answered Murmur Two. "You mean Yuki and Yuno, they're on a date right now."

"When are they getting back?" asked Akise. "This is important!"

"You seemed flustered Observer," said Murmur Three. "What is it?"

"The police managed to find this world's Yukiteru."

The Murmurs hovered still, stunned for a second. Murmur Three broke the silence, "How?! We've been looking for him and Murmur One everywhere!"

"I don't know. I came here as soon as I learned."

Murmur Two pulled up a large blank screen. "Where is he right now?"

"At the police station."

With a wave of Murmur Two's hand, the screen started flashing through images of people and rooms. She suddenly pointed at it. "There!"

The screen stopped flashing through random scenes and now showed this world's Yukiteru with the chief of police, Kurusu Keigo. They were in a room with a single table between them, and a camera in the upper corner.

"They're questioning him," said Akise. "Strange, this Yukiteru looks fine."

It was true, he looked unhurt. Completely different from how the second world's had looked when he'd been kidnapped. But it was more than that, he didn't look frightened or relieved to have escaped. Just confused and a bit nervous.

"Where have you been these past two weeks?" asked Kurusu.

The third world's Yuki was uncomfortable in the situation. "What? Well, um . . . you know, I've done what everyone else does during summer break. Hang out with friends, go to the beach, play video games . . . why are you asking me this?"

Kurusu ignored his question. "What about yesterday?"

"Huh? Yesterday I was in town with my girlfriend and parents. We were going around shopping." He continued to tell the police chief details.

Kurusu Keigo was confused. _What's going on with this kid? He's telling me the events of the day before his disappearance. Wait, does he think . . ._ "Tell me, Yukiteru-kun. What's today's date?"

"Huh? Isn't today August 29th?"

"No, it's September 11th."

"What?!" Yukiteru stood up. "That can't be true!"

Kurusu opened his phone and showed it to him. "Here, take a look." There on the phone, September 11th. "Look, you have your phone in your pocket right there, why don't you check yourself?"

He took out his phone and opened it. It said the same thing. "But . . . how?!"

"It seems you have some memory loss." The detective put his phone away. "You were reported as missing on August 29th and we found no trace of you until today."

"No way." The third world's Yuki said in disbelief. "What happened to me?"

"That's what we're trying to find out. Are you sure that you don't remember anything?"

After a moment of concentration, Yuki replied. "Nothing. The last thing I remember is walking home."

"Oh? And that was August 28th right? Your parents filed a missing report the day after."

"But, I don't have any memories of anything after that or any before you found me 20 minutes ago and asked me to come here! Nothing!"

 _He definitely seems frightened now_ thought Akise.

Kurusu gave this world's Yukiteru a strange look. "Well, your parents will be arriving soon. However, before returning home with your parents, we'd like you to undergo some tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"Drug tests," bluntly answered the detective. "Psychological tests, medical examinations those kinds. It would be better for us if you and your parents gave us permission to perform them. After all, it would be a lot of help for our investigation."

The detective started to get up. "Oh, hold on a second, your girlfriend was Wakaba Moe, right?"

"Yeah . . . wait, why did you say 'was'?" asked Yuki. "Is she missing too?"

"Her dead body was found after your disappearance."

"What?" Yuki's voice was almost a whisper. "Her dead body?"

"Yes."

Nishijima and another policeman entered the room. "Sir, the boy's parents have arrived. They're waiting in the lobby."

"Come on, Yukiteru-kun."

The third world's Yuki left the room, following the other officer.

"You seem to be right Nishijima." Kurusu took out his phone and typed notes. He still maintained his investigation diary.

"Sir?"

"He was completely surprised when I told him his girlfriend was dead. He doesn't seem to be the type of person to kill either."

"Yes sir." Although, considering what Nishijima's wife had told him about the second world, that didn't seem true to him.

"Let's go talk to his parents."

He left, with Nishijima following him.

Murmur Two shrank the screen and put it off to the side. "Well, looks like this world's Yuki isn't going to be much help in finding Murmur One. I'll just put this aside for Yuno and Yuki-kun to see later."

"You're wrong Murmur Two," said Akise. "This world's Yukiteru has already given us a lot of information."

"What do you mean?" asked Murmur Three.

"I think it would be best if I also told this to Yukiteru and Gasai-san. Where are they?"

Murmur Two answered. "They're at a movie theater. I'll go find them."

"Alright, we'll be waiting here." Akise waved her off as she went down to Sakurami city.

* * *

"Hahahaha!"

Yuki, Yuno, and pretty much the whole audience laughed as the main character spilled hot coffee on himself. Right as he was on his way to a job interview.

 _It's nice just being on a date with Yukki._ Yuno leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled. _Not worrying about us._

What was that? Someone was pulling on her leg, she turned her head and saw a child. "Nee-san, come with me," the little girl said.

Yuno looked closer, it wasn't a child. It was Murmur Two, wearing children's clothing and her hair cut down. "What are you doing here?" whispered Yuno.

"It's the third world Yuki, the police found him," replied Murmur Two.

Yuki stood up. "What?!"

People in the seats around him shushed him.

Murmur Two ignored them. "Come to the Cathedral now!"

Yuno sighed. _Of course it has to be now. When Yukki and I are on our date._ "Okay, let's go."

When they left the room, Yuki started to ask questions while they found a place where they could disappear without other people noticing. "When did they find him?"

"About thirty minutes ago."

"Has he said anything about where the other Yuno is?"

"No." answered Murmur Two. "Look, hold off on the questions for now. You'll get some answers when we get to the Cathedral."

"Hey Yukki," Yuno pointed to the bathrooms. "We should go to the bathrooms. We can go to the Cathedral from there without anybody noticing."

They found some empty stalls and reappeared in the Cathedral. Murmur Two immediately returned to her normal appearance while Yuno and Yuki sat together on the enormous throne.

"Oh, you're back, that was fast." Akise stopped writing in the black notebook in his hand.

"Where is he?" asked Yuki.

"He's still with the police." Akise looked to Murmur Three. "Can you show Yukiteru and Gasai-san the questioning?" He turned to Yuki. "We'll talk when you're all caught up."

"Here." Murmur Three created a screen.

Yuno and Yuki watched the interview that Kurusu had with the third world's Yuki. After they'd finished it, Akise asked, "So what do you think?"

"He won't be able to tell us where Murmur One is," answered Yuno. _Damn her, being such an annoying bitch, interrupting my time with Yukki. I'll make her pay for this._

"Yes, that's true," said Akise. "But he does tell us something useful. For whatever reason, the Yuno personality decided to let him go."

"What?" asked Yuki. "How do you know that?"

"His memory has been erased. If he had somehow managed to escape from the insane personality, his memory would have been intact. And his most recent memory is meeting with the police less than an hour ago, it would have been incredibly easy for her to just capture him again.

"Instead, she allowed the police to find him, but erased his memories so we wouldn't be able to use him to find her. Although, I don't know why she would release him in the first place. Do you have any ideas, Gasai-san?"

Yuno thought for a little bit. Eventually, she shook her head. "No."

"Maybe Murmur One managed to regain control of her body," said Yuki.

Akise considered it. "Maybe . . . although if she had somehow managed to do so, I doubt her first move would be to release this world's Yukiteru. Wouldn't she try to come here first? Or if that wasn't possible, somehow send us a message?"

"What if the third world's Yuki has the message?" suggested Murmur Two.

"What message could he send if his memory's been erased?" asked Yuno. "And if Murmur One managed to control her body long enough to free him, why wouldn't she come here instead? I think Akise's right, the personality released him for some reason."

"Well, what reason could that be?" asked Murmur Three.

They stayed silent as none of them had any ideas.

Yuki sighed. "I don't think we're going to get anywhere without some more answers. Akise, can you keep a track of this world's me so the insane personality won't be able to kidnap him again?"

"Sure, I'll go to the police station right now." Akise started to disappear. "I'll come back if anything else important comes up."

At that, he left the Cathedral.

Yuno grabbed Yuki's hand. "Yukki, I'm worried. This doesn't make any sense."

"What's wrong?" asked Yuki.

"The insane personality wouldn't have let this world's Yukki go. But she did."

"Well, yeah . . . we're all confused by that."

"You don't understand Yukki, she's completely obsessed with you! You're the only thing she has to live for! I doubt anything would have made her release this world's you. It's especially troubling to me, if I can't predict what she'll do, then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Yuno, I think it's a good thing that you can't predict her actions." Yukiteru put his hand on her shoulder. "That just means you're not insane like she is. Besides, you don't need to worry, we'll find a way to catch her, after all, this world's me has been found. He'll probably give us a lot of clues."

Murmur Two flew right in front of them. "Yeah! There's no way she could have completely erased two weeks' worth of memories. Once the police let him go, we'll look through his mind and find Murmur One!"

Yuki smiled. "See?"

"Okay." Yuno was still concerned about what the Yuno personality's motives were. "Could you come with me Yukki?" She flew off the throne onto the ground.

Yuki followed her. "Sure, where to?"

"Just our bedroom."

Yuno and Yuki reached it in a few minutes. "What is it?" asked Yuki.

"I want to use telepathy again," said Yuno. "There's something important I need to show you." She slowly pushed him down onto the bed to make him sit.

Yuki shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous."

"What's so dangerous about it?" asked Yuno as she positioned herself onto his lap. She looked into his eyes intently.

"It's-it's, wh-what are you doing?"

Yuno smiled. "Just getting comfortable Yukki." _He's so cute, stammering already._ She asked him again, "What's so dangerous about it?"

"You remember the last time we used it? Two hours passed without us noticing."

"So what?" Yuno slowly leaned forward, pushing Yuki back until he was laying down. She put her head on his chest. "We'll have plenty of time together."

"I don't like that time just suddenly disappearing," answered Yuki. "I want to remember every moment I have with you."

 _Oh, Yukki, you're so sweet._

"There's more though. If we use it too much, there's a chance that our minds could merge and be unable to separate. I don't want us to end up like that. I want to us to be together, but as individuals."

"Oh, I didn't realize." _That doesn't sound good at all. How would we love each other if that happened?_ "Still . . . this is really important."

"Yuno, I don't want us to rely too much on telepathy to show each other how we feel. Considering how dangerous it could be. We should use our words. If it's something important you can just tell me."

Yuno raised her head. "I can't. It's too difficult. Please, Yukki, just this once?"

He tried to say no but he took one look at her face and he surrendered. "Fine." _I'm such a pushover._

 _Yay! Yukki, do you hear me?_

 _Yes Yuno, I'm here._

She'd gotten him to agree to do it again! Even though she really did have something important to show him, that wasn't the only reason she had asked for this.

The last time they'd done this, it had been wonderful. They'd reached a much better understanding of each other, and Yuno's fears had momentarily disappeared. When they did this it was like she was surrounded by Yukki's love. She couldn't worry when his love was all around her, but it had been a different story after they had stopped. She had felt like something precious had just been ripped away from her. And worst of all, her fears came rushing back like a tsunami. What if he's stopped loving me? What if he starts loving someone else? Frightening thoughts went through her mind.

But she'd have it again, Yukki's love and freedom from her insecurities. _Yukki, do you love me?_

 _Of course, Yuno._ Here it came, his love, it was so warm and comforting. She basked in it for a moment.

 _Yuno? Didn't you say you had something important to show me?_

She snapped out of her trance. _Yes, here it is._

Yuno showed him a memory. She was standing at a staircase, holding a knife to a girl's throat, Yuki saw himself and some dogs, he was telling Yuno not to kill the girl.

 _Didn't you show me this the last time?_

 _Yes Yukki, but not completely. We didn't go over many memories in depth. Keep watching._

Yuno was right. This time, the fear and desperation Yuno had felt was affecting Yuki more strongly. And he experienced her thoughts more vividly.

 _Why are you telling me not to kill her Yukki? She tried to kill us. Do you like her?_

 _You like her don't you! I have to kill her! And the rest of these people, they'll take you away from me!_

 _All of you are trying to steal him from me aren't you?!_

It was very difficult for Yuki to experience such desperation from her.

He felt tears roll down Yuno's cheeks.

 _No, Yukki, please, don't say that! I'm your friend, someday we'll be husband and wife! Please, please, I love you-_

 _Huh? What are you saying?_

 _Your girlfriend? You're saying I'm your girlfriend? Yukki-_

 _Sure, sure Yukki! I'll do whatever you ask! I have to be a good girlfriend for you._

It was over. That had been very different from the last time he'd experienced her memories.

 _Wait, Yukki, there's one more._

Yuki sensed something from her. _Yuno? Are you feeling . . . guilty?_ A new image began to form. Yuki was chained to a chair. And Yuno was only wearing her underwear.

He experienced her thoughts again. _Yukki's mine now! Here, no one will attack us or try to steal him from me._

In the memory, Yuno walked over to the tied up Yuki. She hugged his head and brought it to her chest. "I love you," she said.

 _I know you can't say it back right now, but it's okay. You won't leave me now._

This was the complete opposite from the last memory. Before, she'd been worried out of her mind about him being "stolen" or leaving her. This time, she was eerily calm and happy.

 _I'm so sorry._ The shame coming from Yuno was palpable _. I . . . I was-_

 _It's . . . well, it's not fine, but I forgave you for that. I love you._

Yuno lightened up. _Thank you Yukki._ She continued to enjoy Yukki's love enveloping her.

 _That's it right? I think we should stop now._

 _No!_ She needed more time with him like this.

Her response startled him. _Why?_

 _Please Yukki, just a little bit more._

 _Okay._ He knew what she was doing, enjoying the direct feeling of his love for her. But he couldn't really blame her, he enjoyed feeling her love for him this way too.

When he thought it had been a minute, he left.

Yuno winced at his departure. It was happening again; the fears came rushing back now she couldn't be certain how he'd feel whenever she said or did anything. It was frustrating and scary. She wished they could use telepathy forever. She tightened her hold on him. At least, this closeness was still nice.

"Why did you show me that?" asked Yuki. He held her as well, leaving the warmth and certainty of Yuno's love affected him the same way. He wouldn't know if what he'd say or do would hurt her.

"You understand how I felt about you right? My obsession and insanity."

He nodded. "It's frightening, but also sad in a way."

"Sad?"

"Yeah, sad. Even if it was in a twisted way, you were only trying to find happiness. I can't be mad at you for that, especially considering all the pain you went through."

"Yukki . . . what I just showed you, I did it so you could understand what the insane personality in Murmur One is like. She's the same as the me in the memories you just saw, maybe even worse."

"Worse? How could she be worse?"

"It's not like I was the craziest person in the world," said Yuno a bit hurt by his response. "She could be worse because you're not there to calm her down. She's obsessed with you, Yukki, so that's why it makes no sense for her to let the third world Yuki free."

"Yeah, I get it. Could she be getting even crazier?"

"I don't know Yukki. But now you see why it's a problem if we're clueless of her intents and motives. We won't have a chance to save Murmur One, or stop the other me from hurting anyone else."

"I get it . . . I guess we'll just have to wait until we can get some answers from this world's me."

"Yeah."

Yuki absentmindedly started to stroke Yuno's hair. "Yuno, I just realized, there's another risk of using telepathy with you."

"What is it?"

"It's addictive," said Yuki. "I enjoy it too much when I'm with you like that."

 _So it's the same with him!_ "I feel the same way." _The telepathy is amazing, although it's really nice to have Yukki petting me like this._

"We should stop using it. We have to become better at using our words when we want to communicate with each other."

"O-okay." _I guess I'll have to just accept that. Besides, I don't really need it to know Yukki loves me. Right?_ Yet Yuno hugged him harder. _I will miss that feeling though._

Yuki brought out his phone. "Well, apparently, it's been an hour. I'm tired, let's go to sleep."

"Alright. Hey, Yukki, you're comfortable like this right?"

Having Yuno's soft, warm body pressed against him? "More than comfortable."

She giggled. "Then . . . let's sleep like this tonight. Okay?" She wanted to be close to him right now, especially since she wouldn't be bathed in his love so thoroughly again.

"Sure." He smiled for her, even if he had some concerns about her. _Yuno, I don't know why, but you're still insecure, aren't you? I'm not sure how I can help you feel better, but I promise, I won't give up._

He kissed her on the cheek.

 _One day, I'll find a way to show you that you don't have to feel that way. That my love for you won't disappear._ Although, he knew that would be no easy task.

* * *

Yuki was certain that Yuno was asleep now.

"Yuno?" he whispered silently to check. No reaction, she kept breathing slowly and evenly. He checked his phone, it was almost midnight. He slowly slipped out from under her.

"Yukki?" she said.

He froze. He looked back at Yuno, she was still asleep. It seemed like she'd just said his name in her sleep. Although, she was frowning now and shuffling a bit.

 _Could she tell that I left her while she was sleeping?_

Yuki lightly kissed her on the forehead and whispered. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

She smiled in her sleep. That was good. Yuki wanted to stay close to her, but he felt that he wouldn't be able to sleep unless he wrote down his thoughts.

 _Yuno, even though she's getting better, she's still attached to me in an unhealthy way._

It was true. During their telepathy session, he'd felt how afraid she'd been and traces of her previous obsession. And he didn't need to look in her mind to see why she had clung to him desperately after it had ended.

He used the light from his phone to find his Yuno diary in the drawer. Then he looked back, good, she was still asleep. Yuki went to the room he used for a study. Right now, it was filled with notes on where Murmur One could be.

He sat down at the desk and opened his diary.

 _Huh, what's this?_

There was a folded piece of paper in the last page he'd written on. Yuki opened it, it was a note with Yuno's handwriting on it.

She knew about his diary! _Why didn't she say anything?_

He started reading.

 _ **Dear Yukki,**_

 _ **Since I love you, I gave back this world's Yukki to his parents.**_

 _It's from the insane Yuno!_ Of course her handwriting would be the same. But more importantly, she'd been here, in the Cathedral!

 _ **I even erased his memories, otherwise he'd think that the fake Yuno had been the one who had kidnapped him. Don't you think that was nice of me? But I don't think it was very nice of you to have sex with her.**_

She'd seen that! That had only been yesterday! _Could she be watching me right now?!_ Yuki looked around, as if he would somehow spot her if she were there.

 _ **But I forgive you, Yukki. After all, she does look like me. And I understand that you have needs and probably couldn't help it. So, when you leave her, you can come to me and I'll do all those things for you! I know you don't know where I am yet, but for me to tell you, you have to trust me and stop having the others look for me.**_

 _ **It'll just be the two of us! And don't worry, I've read this diary of yours, I won't cause any problems for you like the fake Yuno does.**_

 _ **Love, The Real Yuno**_

What was he going to do? Somehow, the insane Yuno personality had entered the Cathedral and watched them. This was bad, very bad.

 _How had this happened? Hadn't the Murmurs said they'd set up alarms to go off if someone entered the Cathedral?_

He quickly wrote down what he had originally meant to. Although when he returned to bed with Yuno, he had an even harder time sleeping. _What if she comes here when we're asleep?_

He wouldn't sleep. How could he sleep when a lunatic could get in here seemingly any time she wanted?

Even so, he went back to bed. As he lay down, somehow, Yuno was able to sense his presence and wrapped her arms around him. He lay there, trying to stay awake. Looking and holding Yuno to comfort himself.


	12. Chapter 12: Confusion

**Sorry. This chapter took a while longer than usual.**

Chapter 12: Confusion

Yuki sat on the floor and looked at his phone, 7:34. Strange, even though he hadn't slept at all last night, he didn't feel tired at all. Maybe his god powers had something to do with it.

 _A great help they were_ he thought sarcastically _._ Last night, he'd stayed in the bedroom with Yuno, accessed the Akashic Records and looked for when the insane personality could have entered the Cathedral.

After a few hours of searching, he'd found it. Soon after he and Yuno had left the Cathedral on their date last night, the insane Yuno personality had appeared in their room. She had quickly found his diary, put in the note, and disappeared. The time between her arrival and departure lasting only a few seconds.

But no matter how hard he looked, he hadn't been able to find where she went after leaving. Or how she could have seen the more "intimate" moments between him and Yuno.

A thought just occurred to him. _Could she still access the Akashic Records?_ Honestly, he had no idea. But if the Yuno personality still could, then she'd be able to see what they were doing.

 _What the hell!_ Why was he worrying about this now?! If the Yuno personality being able to watch their every move was a possibility, then he should have realized it a long time ago.

He sighed. He was far too ignorant about his god powers. _I'll have to ask the Murmurs-_

"Yukki? What are you doing?" Yuno asked as she got up from bed and rubbed her eyes.

"I was just checking some things," said Yuki as he waved the screens away. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Yuno frowned, something was off. "Yukki, you were with me the whole night, right?"

"Of course! Where would I go?"

She discreetly sniffed the blankets. There was no trace of his scent. _He's lying to me._ "Yukki, you're lying."

"No I'm not, I was with you!"

 _What is he hiding?_ "Why are you lying to me?" asked Yuno. "Didn't you say we could tell each other anything?"

"I . . ." Yuno was right. _I should be able to tell her the truth_. But he wasn't sure how she'd react to the letter the insane Yuno had sent him. Even now, the suspicious, fearful look she gave him was worrying; he didn't want to worsen her mood.

"I couldn't sleep last night," said Yuki. "I just had a bad feeling and had to check some things." He technically wasn't lying, although he was leaving out some important details.

Luckily Yuno believed him. "Why didn't you just tell me then?"

"I . . . I didn't want to bother you."

"What did you have to check?" she asked. She yawned and covered her mouth.

 _God, she really is cute. How does she look so perfect first thing in the morning?_ "Um, just on how the third world's me is doing." It was a good thing he actually had done that. He didn't want to lie any more than he had to.

"For the whole night?"

"Well . . . I also looked for places where I thought Murmur One could be."

"Okay." Yuno got off the bed and stood in front of Yukki. "Wait, is that what you did the whole night?"

"Yes."

 _For the whole night? Didn't he sleep at all?_ "Yukki, from now on, can you just investigate during the day?"

"Huh? How come?"

Yuno blushed and fidgeted with her fingers a bit nervously. "It's just . . . I want to spend the nights with you. It's really nice waking up with you."

"Oh." He wasn't sure what else to say. "Well, Yuno, even though I didn't sleep. I still spent most of last night in this room with you. So it's not like I left you alone."

No, that wasn't the answer she wanted, she seemed saddened by his response. _Idiot!_ he thought to himself. _I didn't answer her question, and now she probably thinks that I'd rather try to find Murmur One than be with her._

"But you're right, it really is nice waking up with you. I promise I'll spend nights with you." He hugged her. "And the days too."

Yuno brightened up immediately. "Great!" She wished Yukki hadn't left their bed last night, she'd had some strange dreams. Although Yukki leaving her was probably the reason why. She went to the bathroom to freshen up.

After a few minutes she returned. "Hey Yukki, what do you think I should wear today?" She held up a couple different outfits.

"Oh, um, I don't know. Maybe . . . that one?" He pointed to an outfit that he thought was similar to what she usually wore. It was a blue skirt and a light green blouse, along with a pink ribbon on the front.

"I know why you like this one," said Yuno.

"What do you mean?"

"Even though it's been a bit cold recently, you want me to wear this short skirt to see my legs right? You shouldn't have such dirty thoughts, Yukki," teased Yuno. The skirt wasn't actually that much shorter than what she usually wore, but it was fun to play with Yukki like this.

He blushed nearly bright red. "What?! No! No! That's not it at all!"

That was the reaction that she'd been expecting. She chuckled at him. "I know, I know. It was just a joke Yukki. Besides, I think it's warm enough to wear this anyway."

She started to take off her nightgown.

Yuki blushed even harder than before. "You're going to change here?!"

"Of course Yukki. There's no need to be shy, I mean, we've seen each other's bodies plenty right?" She stood in front of him wearing only her underwear. He really was adorable.

"I-I guess." Yuki was still blushing slightly. He couldn't help but stare at Yuno's nearly naked body.

"There." Yuno was now fully dressed. "How do I look?" She twirled around to give him a full view.

"Beautiful," he said, stunned.

"Thanks." Yuno held his hand and led him out of the room. "Come on, do you want anything for breakfast?"

"No, not really." He wasn't hungry. In fact, he hadn't felt hunger ever since he became a god. If he had, those millennia spent in the second world would have been even worse. Using his god powers to sustain himself had become second nature by now. "Yuno, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, aren't you?" asked Yuno. "Neither of us have eaten today."

"You can try using your god powers to satisfy your hunger instead," said Yuki. "Just imagine your hunger slowly disappearing, and then replace it with energy from inside yourself."

"Okay." Yuno closed her eyes and focused. Imagining her hunger fading away and using the newfound god powers to fill herself with energy.

"Wow," said Yuno after she finished. She wasn't hungry anymore. These god powers were amazing. She wondered what else she could do with them. She already knew she could fly, teleport, and use telepathy. She hadn't tried looking into the future yet, but Deus seemed to have been able to.

But . . . now she better understood why Yukki wanted a normal life for the two of them and not use their god powers too often. It seemed like if they used their god powers were already separating them, if neither of them needed to sleep or eat, when would Yukki spend time with her? That would probably just turn into more time for him to look for Murmur One.

"Hey, Yukki, even if we aren't hungry anymore, can we still eat breakfast together?" suggested Yuno. "Let's try to live as normally as possible, that's what you want isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right. Especially after we deal with the insane personality." Yuki walked to the kitchen. "I'm feeling like eating an omelet for breakfast, what about you?"

"I'm fine with that," answered Yuno. "I'll cook."

"You don't have to," said Yuki. "I can do it, my mom had high standards with food, and she made sure I could cook well."

"We'll do it together then."

They hadn't cooked together before, it turned into a disaster. They were both competent cooks, but the problem was that they were too playful with each other. They distracted each other too much. In fact, they ended up burning the omelets.

They just laughed it off and decided to skip breakfast after all.

"Well, that could have turned out better." Yuki took the pan and emptied the burnt remains into the garbage.

"Definitely," said Yuno. "You need to focus on what you're doing Yukki."

"How could I when you tried to tickle me when I was stirring the eggs?"

"Sorry, you're surprisingly ticklish though," said Yuno. When she'd put her hands in his armpits, he'd started laughing and she'd barely even moved her fingers.

"Oh really?" He put the pan on the counter and walked toward her with his hands extended. "What about you?" He suddenly moved forward and tickled her sides.

"No!" Yuno said laughing. "S-stop Yukki!" She tried to grab his hands but failed.

"See? How could you focus on anything when someone was doing this to you?" said Yuki. "And it looks like you're very ticklish too."

Yuno suddenly tripped and held on to Yuki as they fell to the floor. They managed to break their fall, but as soon as Yuki was sure she was okay, he started to tickle her again.

"Okay, Yukki!" She giggled. "I-I get it!"

Yuki stopped and looked down at her. Her face was flushed and she was smiling happily. _She's so beautiful._ He couldn't resist kissing her.

Yuno immediately responded as his lips met hers. _Wow, Yukki's getting really passionate._ She gasped as he sucked on her tongue slightly. He really had improved his technique. Although that was probably because they'd kissed so often.

"I love you Yuno," he said.

"I love you too, Yukki." She raised her head to kiss him again.

In the corner of his vision, Yuki saw a clock, it was 8:23. Yuno should have been on her way to school by now. He got up and offered his hand to help her stand.

 _Why did he stop?_ thought Yuno.

Yuki saw her questioning expression. "Look at the time Yuno. You need to go." He really wanted to stay with her though. Their kissing session had excited him and roused his desire for her, but he managed to stay calm.

It was time to go to school, but there was no reason for her to go. If her parents made a fuss about it, she'd just alter their memories again. "Yukki, I can just skip school today. We'll spend the day together instead." Yuno smiled, thinking about what they'd do together.

"What about your parents?" asked Yuki.

"I'll just erase their memories again or something," answered Yuno. She leaned forward to kiss him again.

"No Yuno." Yuki stopped her. "I don't want you to abuse your powers like that."

"It's just one day. Can't I just do it so we spend today with each other?" asked Yuno. "Don't you want to?"

"Of course I want to, but we can't just do whatever we want. It might seem pointless to try, especially considering the trouble with Murmur One, but I want us to have _normal_ lives. We're still teenagers, we need to have self-control. We shouldn't erase people's memories just so we can fool around with each other.

"Besides, we'll have plenty of time to be together. Tonight, tomorrow, and every day after that. So go to school okay? And after we deal with Murmur One, I'll find a way to go too." _You don't need to cling to me Yuno. And I shouldn't cling to you either._

Yuki had noticed recently that he was getting more and more reluctant to separate himself from Yuno. But he couldn't indulge in his own selfish desires and encourage an unhealthy attachment to him, especially not when Yuno still wasn't completely stable.

"Okay Yukki." Yuno surrendered. She was still tempted to use her god powers, but she had to respect his wishes. Their relationship wouldn't work if she did whatever she wanted to spend more time with him.

 _Still . . . I wish Yukki had agreed and let me be with him._ But it was fine, she guessed. After all, they had a whole future together.

She pecked him on the lips, carefully trying not to reignite their passions. "Bye Yukki. Can . . . can you come pick me up afterschool then?"

"Sure, Yuno." He gave her a warm hug. "See you then!"

She smiled and left the Cathedral.

 _Did I just make the wrong choice when I said I'd go to her afterschool?_ He felt that she was still trying to cling to him. _I shouldn't be so judgmental, she just wants to be with me, the same way I want to be with her._

He suddenly heard slightly muffled snickering right behind him.

"You two are so cute together."

Yuki turned around, it was Murmur Two, covering her laughter with her hand. He blushed. "How much did you see?"

"Not much," she answered. "Just the bit where Yuno said. 'Oh, Yukki,'" Murmur Two spoke in a higher pitched voice, "please stay with me! I don't want to go to school!" She puckered her lips. "Mwah, mwah, mwah."

Then she deepened her voice to try to sound like Yuki. "Don't worry Yuno, I'll be with you forever and ever."

"Shut up!" Yuki was incredibly embarrassed.

Suddenly another voice spoke. "Oh, grow up, Yuki. It's just a bit of harmless teasing."

A purple-haired woman wearing an eyepatch entered. "Ninth?" asked Yuki. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was just coming to visit and help you find Murmur One. But watching your relationship with Yuno was hilarious." She smiled. "You practically jumped on her and left the girl all hot and bothered. I bet she can't stop thinking about you right now and how you left her unsatisfied." The Ninth snickered with Murmur Two at the thought.

"Yeah, yeah, really funny," said Yuki. He became more irritated as the two women continued laughing. "Okay, stop it! I want to talk about something serious right now."

"Alright, what is it?" asked Murmur Two.

"The insane Yuno personality entered the Cathedral yesterday."

"What?!" Murmur Two started to panic. "How?! When?! That can't be possible!"

"Apparently it is." Yuki held up a hand to cut off any further questions. "Wait, before you ask me anything, let's go to the throne room first. Murmur Three needs to know about this."

When they entered the throne room, Murmur Three was getting a report from Akise Aru. He was speaking, "I can get the results of the tests the police ran on this world's Yukiteru by tonight. And there's another thing-

Akise noticed the three entering the throne room. "Oh, hi there. What brings you here, Nishijima Minene?"

"Same thing as you," replied Ninth. "Helping them out. What about you? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Yes, but it won't matter if I'm only a bit late. Besides, I'm just giving my report to Murmur Three."

"Could you stay for a bit Akise? I think I'll need your help."

"Of course. Thank you for asking, but you're a god Yukiteru-kun. I work as an Observer for you now, you only need to order me."

"Um, okay. Murmur One came to the Cathedral yesterday." Yuki made a screen appear in front of them. "Look."

The four watched, surprised, as the screen showed how Murmur One, in the form of Yuno, had entered his and Yuno's bedroom, placed her note in his diary, and left.

He waved it away. "That was around 8 o'clock yesterday. When Yuno and I were away." He looked at the Murmurs. "How did this happen? Didn't you say that you set up alarms for her?"

Murmur Two floated still, completely confused. "We did. Even if she had entered the Cathedral for only a moment, we would have felt it."

"Did you try to see where she went after leaving the Cathedral?" asked Ninth.

"Yes." Yuki shook his head. "But I couldn't find her."

"Hold on a second," asked Akise. "Murmur Two, what do you mean you would have _felt_ it if she had entered the Cathedral? And exactly what is the nature of these alarms that you say you set up?"

"Well, whenever someone enters the Cathedral, or tries to, both Murmur Three and I feel their presence. In fact, Yuno and Yuki should be able to as well, if they pay attention. It's how we or Deus would respond so quickly to anyone who tried to enter the Cathedral if we weren't in the part they arrived in."

"Oh, that's interesting. So, you feel my and Minene-san's presence right now?"

"Yes, but it'll fade in a bit."

"How come?"

Murmur Three answered, "Because it gets annoying after a while, it's like having someone breathe down your neck. We also don't really need to feel their presence anymore to tell if someone's here if we're right in front of them.

"But in the case of Murmur One, we've set it so if she enters the Cathedral, it'll be like someone's yelling right in our ear for a second. Even if we were asleep it would stir us to action immediately."

"These alarms, they'll only go off if she _enters_ the Cathedral right?" asked Akise.

"Uh-huh."

Akise thought for a few moments. "Is it possible, that Murmur One has never left the Cathedral in the first place?"

"Of course not! Do you think we'd miss it if she were hiding right under our noses!" yelled Murmur Two.

"Well, if the alarms that were meant to go off if she entered didn't go off, and if she didn't find a way to outsmart them, that must mean she didn't _enter_ the Cathedral yesterday, but merely teleported from one place in the Cathedral to another. I don't have a clear idea of how large the Cathedral is. Have you checked whether she could be hiding here?"

"Akise-kun," said Yuki. "The Cathedral is pretty big, but if the Yuno personality had been hiding in the Cathedral since we discovered her, she must have left the Cathedral and come back at least once. When she returned the third world's me to the police and returned to give me that letter."

"That's right, well, never mind then. By any chance, can we see that letter Yukiteru-kun?" asked Akise.

"Okay, let me get it," said Yuki.

He went to the bedroom. _Where could the insane Yuno be? Did she manage to avoid the alarms? That must be it, nothing else makes any sense._ He returned to the others with the letter.

After reading it, Akise was the first to speak, "Well, we now know her motive for releasing this world's Yukiteru. But I'm not sure this will be useful for much else."

"Hey," Ninth pointed to the middle of the letter. "She says that she'll reveal her location to Yuki if the rest of us stop looking for her. Do you think we could trick her?"

"No, it's too risky." said Yuki. "We're not that desperate. Besides, we know where the third world's me is. If we look into his mind, I'm sure we'll be able to find the insane Yuno personality's location."

"Okay, if that's all, then I'll be on my way," announced Akise.

"Wait . . . if you talk to Yuno, don't tell her about this letter," ordered Yuki. "Or how Murmur One entered the Cathedral."

"I won't," promised Akise before leaving.

Yuki turned to the three of them. "You guys too, please don't tell Yuno about this."

"I don't understand, why are you trying to hide this from her?" asked Ninth.

"Look . . . I'm worried about her, she's . . ." Yuki didn't want to share his personal concerns for Yuno's state of mind. "Please, just don't tell her."

Ninth saw his pained expression and decided not to question him any further. "Fine then. If she somehow hears about this, it won't be from me."

"I won't tell her either then," said Murmur Two.

"Me too," agreed Murmur Three.

"Thank you." Yuki was immensely relieved.

"You know Yuki, that a relationship requires trust," Ninth pointed out. "It's not a good idea to hide things from each other."

Yuki was already aware of that. "I know, but-

"It was just a bit of advice," interrupted Ninth. "I won't meddle with you and Yuno, I'll trust your judgement when it comes to her. Since I can tell that you really do care for her."

"Thank you Ninth, I really am grateful for that," answered Yuki. "Anyway, could you help me search the Cathedral? Just in case Akise was onto something."

Minene considered it. "Sure, but only for a little while. I have kids to take care of."

"We'll help too," said both Murmurs.

* * *

Minene whistled at the sight of the entire Cathedral. "Wow, the Cathedral is a lot bigger than I thought."

"Well, Deus was the one who designed it, and he was about thirteen meters tall," lectured Murmur Three.

"We should probably split up," advised Murmur Two.

"Sounds good, we'll go in pairs," declared Minene. Minene grabbed Yuki's arm. "I'll take Yukiteru." She flew off and pulled him along, leaving the Murmurs.

"Why did you decide to go with me?" asked Yuki after freeing himself. He flew along beside her.

"Yukiteru," Minene became very serious. "What do you plan on doing after you catch the insane Yuno?"

"Huh? Um, well, that depends on whether it really is Yuno that's in Murmur One or not. If it's just a set of memories that's infected Murmur One, we'll erase them and cure her."

"Fine then. What will you do if it's not though? If the soul of the first world's Yuno is there too?"

Yuki didn't respond. He'd been avoiding that possibility, trying to think about it as little as possible. If Murmur One had inadvertently taken in Yuno's soul, how could he possibly help either of them? The insane personality probably wouldn't let Murmur One free. And how would he help Murmur One without removing Yuno's soul and memories from her?

In other words, how could he help Murmur One without killing Yuno?

"You really are still a naïve kid." Minene sighed. "You can't just shove this off to the side! You have to decide Yukiteru, if Yuno's soul is there, what will you do?"

"I know!" yelled Yuki, then more quietly. "I know I shouldn't have ignored the possibility. But, if it's true, what can I do? I can't just kill her, she's Yuno! She doesn't deserve to die! But Murmur One doesn't deserve to have her body stolen from her either! And I still can't fully trust this world's Yuno to let me help the other Yuno!"

"Do you remember what I told you when we came to this world Yukiteru? That you had to make up your mind on who you wanted to save? That applies in this case too, you can't save everyone. Even with god powers."

Minene continued. "The Yuno in Murmur One is insane. And it seems like this world's Yuno isn't that different. So make up your mind. Because, just like before, it won't work out happily for everyone. Choose Yuki, and do it quickly, because I think there's a good chance she's hiding in the Cathedral. You can't face her without making a decision."

 **Author's Note:**

 **Again, really sorry for the fact that this chapter took so long to write.**

 **I don't have any real excuses, I just found myself revising this chapter over and over again. It took a while to get it right.**

 **Well, they're really starting to crack down on Murmur One/Insane Yuno. And now Yuki has to confront the possibility that it really is Yuno. Good old Ninth, always ready to give him the harsh reality.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to review. Even if it's just you guys asking for more, they really help. But I'd really like your opinion on my story. Even if you think it's terrible, review and tell me why. Is my dialogue awkward? Are there any plot holes? Are Yuno or Yuki or anyone else acting too out of character? These are the kinds of questions I need answers to in your reviews. And I'm too biased to answer them honestly for myself.**

 **And hey, Favoriting and Following also helps too.**


	13. Chapter 13: Help

Chapter 13: Help

Makamo Yora had just finished his session with the boy Amano Yukiteru. It was a good thing he had expertise in psychology in general, otherwise there wouldn't have been a point in the police asking for a criminal psychologist to interview the boy.

It was a strange case, Yukiteru had no memory of the last two weeks. What was even stranger was that his memory loss didn't seem to be due to any emotional trauma, and it looked like Yukiteru didn't have any head injuries. Although, Yora wouldn't rule them out until the medical examiner did.

But he had a hunch that physical trauma wasn't the cause of the memory loss either. It was very peculiar, as if his memories had just been removed. As easily and one would delete documents on a computer. But Yora didn't know of any drugs or techniques that could erase memories so cleanly and seemingly without side effects. It was truly worrying if there were criminals that had such capabilities.

Yora thought about the Amano boy's personality as he filled out his report for the police. The teenager had been frightened and confused, although that was to be expected of anyone in his situation. _It's highly unlikely that he was the one who killed Wakaba Moe_ he thought _._ He didn't like to use the word impossible, but even he thought that it would be appropriate in this case. In the first half of his two-hour session with him, Yora realized that the kid didn't have violent tendencies. Amano Yukiteru was the type to cower and hide rather than fight back even if provoked. And especially not the type to kill someone.

Also, he truly seemed to care about the dead girl. It was the kind of innocent, reckless young love that everyone seemed to have experienced at least once. Yora knew that the police would be wasting their time if they continued to investigate on the basis that Amano Yukiteru had murdered Wakaba Moe.

But that did raise the question, who had killed the girl and kidnapped Yukiteru? It was doubtful that his disappearance and her death occurring at the same time had been a coincidence. Who would want to kill her and kidnap him? And why would the criminal release him?

It was almost as if . . . someone had been jealous of the girl, and wanted Amano Yukiteru for themselves.

But again, why would they free him? It didn't make any sense. Yora's curiosity rose, he wished that he could interview the criminal responsible for this. Their mind truly would be fascinating.

He put that thought away and scolded himself, he shouldn't let his mind wander. He completed the report and handed it to his friend Nishijima.

Yet Yora couldn't stop thinking about this case, something truly strange was going on here.

* * *

Yuno was packing in a hurry, eager to get back to Yukki. School had seemed to drag on forever, but Yukki had promised to come to her immediately after it was over. Although, it would be a bit difficult to find him since they hadn't chosen a location to meet at, and it wasn't as if he could just walk up to the school. He'd be mistaken for the other Yukki.

This world's Yukki, it seemed that like that was the only thing anyone could talk about the whole day. Even her closest friends couldn't avoid the topic. There had been lots of gossip, some people still thought that he'd killed his girlfriend and come back because he felt guilty. Others thought that maybe he'd had his organs harvested.

Although Yuno knew the truth was much stranger than that.

"Hey Yuno!" Another girl was calling out behind her. "Do you want to hang out with us today? We're going to the new bakery nearby; apparently it has great cakes."

"No, sorry, I'm busy today." Yuno replied. She'd finished packing and was about to leave the classroom. "Maybe some other time."

Mao and Akise were in the seats at the back of the classroom. "Hey Akise," said Mao, "don't you think that Yuno's been really busy recently? I mean, ever summer break, she always seems to be somewhere else."

"I guess so," answered Akise. "Well, that's her business. Besides, if you really want to know why, just ask her."

"That's strange, usually you're more curious about things like this."

"This case with Amano Yukiteru is much more interesting than the mystery of where Yuno goes in her free time," replied Akise. _Besides, I already know where she goes. To Yukiteru._ He thought a bit bitterly about that. It wasn't easy watching the two of them. Even though Yukiteru was happy with her, even though he knew Yukiteru didn't feel the same way about other guys the way Akise did, he still felt the same way about him.

 _Damn you Deus_ thought Akise. Making him feel this way. Using him and manipulating his actions and feelings. Forcing people to play a sick survival game. Yukiteru would be a much better god, he was sure of it.

Although he had his doubts about Yuno. It looked like what he'd feared was coming to pass, this world's Yuno looked like she was becoming insane as well. It was a more subtle instability, but it was there nonetheless. Well, it was to be expected, this world's Yuno had been a good person, but those memories had changed her immensely. Almost to the point where she was reaching the previous mindset of the first world's Yuno. But as long as Yukiteru kept her stable, it would be fine. At least, Akise hoped so.

* * *

There he was! Yukki, he was wearing sunglasses and a hooded jacket again to hide his face. Yuno ran up to him, she hugged him and kissed him passionately. "I really missed you today."

"I missed you too," answered Yuki. After a few moments he spoke again, "Um, you can let go of me now." Yuno was still hugging him, and he wanted to talk to her seriously. Which was a bit hard to do in this position.

He pulled himself away from her. "Yuno . . . can you come to the Cathedral with me? It's about something important."

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Let me just call my parents. I'll tell them I'm going to spend the night at a friend's place. That way, I won't have to go back home tonight."

"Wait, you want to stay at the Cathedral until tomorrow morning? Don't you think that's a bit much?" Yuki started to word his statements very carefully. "I mean, we've spent a lot of time together already. We don't have to be with each other that often."

"What do you mean?" asked Yuno, confused. "Don't you want to be with me?"

"I do! I do!" answered Yuki. He paused nervously. "It's just . . . I don't think it's healthy for us to want to be together all the time. We need to be able to spend time apart."

Yuno didn't really get what Yukki was saying. Spend time apart? Why would they want to if they were in love? Besides, they had already done so. "I wasted half the day at school Yukki. What's wrong with using the rest of it to be with you? Besides, you promised."

"I . . . I did." She was right though, there wasn't anything wrong with being together for the rest of the day. But it wasn't just today. It was their relationship in general. Yuki realized that by now, Yuno must be avoiding her family and friends to be with him. They had been with each other almost every day since their reunion two months ago; he couldn't remember the last time she'd left him other than to make sure her friends and family didn't start to wonder about her.

How had he not realized that Yuno was still so fixated on him like this? He didn't know, maybe he'd just been overjoyed at being with her again and ignored all the problems their relationship had suffered from in the last world.

To tell the truth, the main reason he thought they should spend time apart would be so that he'd be able to find better ways help her. Whenever they were together, he was too indulgent with her. Like right now, he should have been more firm in saying that they were spending an unhealthy amount of time together. But he couldn't help it. He loved her, the way she'd smiled when he'd said it was fine to spend the rest of the day with him made it hard for him to think he was doing something wrong.

But how could he help her be less dependent on him if he let her cling to him? It just nurtured her feelings of possessiveness and fear of anyone else he could become attached to. Right now, it wasn't that much of a problem. Since the Yuno personality in Murmur One was taking up his whole time. But later, when he really started to live in this world, when he met new people and lived his life with her, Yuno would need to let go of her insecurities.

Yuno closed her phone. "My parents said it was fine. Let's go Yukki!"

She pulled him into an empty alley and they both entered the Cathedral. Yuki was about to tell the Murmurs that they were here before he remembered that they would already be able to tell.

"Come on Yuno." He walked to a special part of the Cathedral. It was the portion that he'd remade to look like his old house. He guessed he must have been feeling pretty homesick, but he wanted something familiar to be with Yuno in. The only differences between this house and his old one were a few rooms. He'd moved the bedroom and kitchen they'd been using for the past two months in it.

"Wow Yukki. How long has this been here?" asked Yuno.

"For a few hours," answered Yuki. "These god powers are really useful." _Although not useful enough to find Murmur One_ he thought bitterly.

They entered the house and went to the living room. They sat next to each other and after they'd gotten comfortable Yuki began. "I want to discuss what we're going to do about the . . ." he didn't want to use the word personality. They'd been using it before, but now that he'd confronted the possibility that the first world Yuno's soul still existed, it felt wrong. "The you in Murmur One. If we capture her and it's just a set of memories that have taken control of her. We'll just erase them, okay?"

"Yes." Yuno nodded.

"But if the soul of the first world you is in there, then-" This was it, he truly didn't know how Yuno would react. He hoped it wouldn't be as bad as he feared. "Then I want to help her." He waited for her reaction.

"Why can't we just kill her?" asked Yuno.

 _What?_ "No! I don't want you to kill her!"Yuki was confused. _How could she say it so calmly? Killing another person?_ Even after spending so much time with her, he still didn't understand. "I want to help her."

"Why do you want to help her?" asked Yuno. She gripped Yuki's hand tightly. Way too tightly.

He looked at her eyes. His heart froze, she was starting to lose it again. "Because she deserves it just like you do. Yuno . . . she's another version of you, don't you feel any compassion for her?" He caressed her face to try to calm her down.

"She's too dangerous Yukki," said Yuno. "If you let her live, we have no idea what she'll do. Killing her is safest."

"That was true for you too," argued Yuki. "During the survival game, everybody warned me that I couldn't trust you, and they were right, I had no idea what secrets you'd been hiding. But even so, I didn't give up on you."

"But that was only because you love me, right?" asked Yuno.

"Well . . . yeah." Yuki didn't know where she was going with this.

"Then why are you doing it for her?" Yuno didn't get it. Why would Yukki want to help the other Yuno unless. Unless he cared about her instead "You love me, don't you? Not her?"

Yuki was about to answer that he only loved her. But he hesitated, he didn't know how he felt about the first world's Yuno. This Yuno and her, were they really that different?

His hesitation was enough to make Yuno snap. Continung on her frightened and irrational train of thought. "You do love her, don't you?!" She tackled him in her fear and anger. "Why?! Why her and not me?"

His arms and legs were pinned down. He struggled for a bit, but he couldn't escape. "Yuno stop it! Get off!"

She couldn't let him go. If she did it would be like giving him up to the other Yuno. "No! Not until you say that you only love me and not her!" She wouldn't let him leave her. Not even for her other self.

Yuki knew if he said the wrong thing he'd provoke her further. "I love you Yuno."

Yuno wasn't completely satisfied, not until she was certain that she had him all to herself. "What about her?"

"I only love you Yuno." But he couldn't look her in the eyes as he said it. He did love Yuno, but he was so confused about how he felt about the first world's Yuno. He reminded himself that it was entirely possible that it was only a set of memories that had infected Murmur One.

"You're a bad liar Yukki."She got off of him and stood up. "Am I not enough for you?"

"Yuno . . . I do care about her, but I love you too. If her soul is really there, then you're both the real Yuno to me. Both of you have suffered so much, it's not fair that only you get the happiness you both deserve."

"But how are you going to make the both of us happy? Yukki, I won't give you up to her. And she'll do her best to take you from me. You're the only one that can make me happy."

Yuki was glad that she felt that way. But also worried, her happiness shouldn't depend on only one person. She had friends and family, there was plenty of joy to be found with other people besides him.

Yuno continued. "If it turns out to really be her, she won't let anybody else have you. She already killed another me to be with you." _Please Yukki, just stop this! She'll-she'll take you from me! You're too kind, you won't mean to, but you'll spend more time trying to help her than being with me! I know you. And when I'm at school or my parents she'll be with you! I can't let that happen! "_ If you try to help her she'll try to get rid of me. And I won't hesitate to kill her." She hoped this threat would be enough to stop him.

"Don't kill her." Yuki said with conviction. "When we capture her, we'll make sure she can't harm anyone. So you won't need to kill her in self-defense."

"Please Yukki," she begged. Maybe, maybe if she told him the real reason why she didn't want him to do this, he wouldn't. Nothing else would work. "Don't do this. I can't let her steal you from me."

Yuki knew that he obviously wouldn't be able to give both Yunos the love they wanted from him, so he'd have to decide. He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you Yuno. If I'm forced to choose, I choose you. The other Yuno will have to accept that."

"Thank you, Yukki." She eased into his warm embrace.

"Besides, it could turn out not to be her," suggested Yuki. "All this worrying might be for nothing."

"You're right." Yuno smiled, she couldn't resist it after Yukki said that he chose her over the other Yuno. But her smile quickly faded. _Even if he promises to be with me, he'll be with her more often than me. My parents won't let me quit school, and Yukki won't like it if I use my powers to convince them._ During the weekdays, Yukki would be with the other Yuno while Yuno would be at school. He would force himself to try and cure her insanity. And he'd fail. Yuno was sure of it. Yukki's love was the only thing that could do that. _And he said I'd have it._

But, if he thought it was necessary, would he change his mind? When he saw how hopeless it was, would he decide that the other Yuno needed his love more? They were both the real Yuno to him. It was possible that Yukki would still leave her for the Yuno that he thought needed him more.

No. No she couldn't let that happen. "Yukki, if it really does turn out to be her, when we do capture her, you have to remember that she isn't me. She'll look like me, and she'll need you, but she won't care for you the way I do. She won't love you the way I do. She just wants you to herself. She won't care about your wishes; not like I do."

"We don't know that Yuno." It was obvious to Yuki what she was doing. She was comparing herself to the other Yuno to try and make him only love her. It was a bit sad, that Yuno thought she needed to do that. "Besides, I'm not going to be in a relationship with her. I love you."

Yuki could tell that she still wasn't completely reassured. He started to stroke her hair, he had noticed that he was usually able to calm her down when he did that. It seemed to work, the tension in her body eased. "What are you so worried about?"

"She could be the first world's me. And if she is, then she's the one you fell in love with first. She's the one you've spent the most time with. Even if she's insane, how can I compete with her if I'm just a girl that received her memories? She's the one who actually lived through them with you.

"I don't want you to help her. I don't want to watch her steal you from me. I don't want you to let her when you see how much she needs you. Please Yukki, do you really need to help her? You have me." She reached over to kiss him.

Yuki wanted to say something, but he saw that she really needed him to respond. So he kissed her back. When it was over, he spoke. "I don't love you because you received her memories. Don't you remember what I said?"

Of course, He'd told her only two days ago. She knew that he loved her and she knew why. "I do. I'm sorry Yukki, I can't help but feel this way." She put her head between his neck and shoulder. "Please don't leave me."

"I won't Yuno." He kissed the top of her head. _I'll find a way to show you that you don't need to feel so afraid._

* * *

Murmur One couldn't endure much more of this. She still had no idea whether or not the Yuno inside her was just a set of memories or the soul of her master but it didn't matter anymore.

She was trapped. Her body completely taken over, her mind imprisoned. It was horrible and sickening, being forced to watch as the insane Yuno grew more and more unstable and yet more powerful, losing hope of any chance of regaining control. Murmur One would welcome death at this point, anything to be free.

How had this happened? This seemed like the thousandth time she'd asked herself this question. Since thinking was the only thing that she could do in this state, and it helped her take her mind off of her horrible situation.

In the first world, she hadn't really cared who would win the survival game. When Deus died, she would have accepted whoever became the next god. Which she had done with Yuno.

It had been different in the second world, that time, Yuno had been her master. So Murmur One had an obligation to obey her. Leap through time to a second world, leaving the first one to its destruction? Fine.

Erase her memories? Fine.

Help her win the survival game? Fine.

Let Yukiteru kill her? Fine.

Kill Yukiteru and redo the game in the third world? Fine.

But it still hadn't been that much different from her relationship with Deus, just do whatever her master asked and have some fun on the side. Making sure she didn't disobey any orders while doing so.

The time Murmur One had been imprisoned with Yuno's memories truly had changed her. When she'd first reduced Yuno's body to her core and swallowed her, it had been an act of desperation. Attempting to preserve her long enough to act out their plans. Spending two years with her memories hadn't been what she'd intended.

Murmur One had seen how much Yuno obsessed over Yukiteru but truly hadn't understood until she'd experienced her memories for herself. The utter hopelessness that Yuno had felt after accidentally killing her parents. Her joy for the future that she believed she had with Yuki. Her happiness at spending time with him. Her despair at his death. Her relief at being able to be with the second world's Yuki. The inner turmoil that she felt as she tried to kill him. Her bliss when she'd sacrificed herself for him and for one moment, their love being real. Not a result of selfishness or dependency, but truly caring for each other.

All these emotions and experiences were a sharp contrast to Murmur One's previous existence. She'd lived as a divine servant, only finding enjoyment in playing games on humans with Deus. She'd never felt emotions so deep and powerful, before her most powerful feelings had been boredom, surprise, and amusement. As a divine servant, she'd thought humans were far beneath her and Deus. Living such short lives full of pain. Yet even so, some of them had found happiness and meaningful existences.

Murmur One had never found that, and she suspected that Deus never had either. Sure he'd had his job maintaining the world, and she'd helped him, but they'd never managed to find the happiness or meaning in it that humans could otherwise. They'd just endlessly sought relief from their boredom.

She'd never cried before receiving these memories. Nothing before had been able to affect her to that extent. As a result, Murmur One had promised herself during her imprisonment that she couldn't let Yuno die like that. She deserved a much better fate. So Murmur One had decided to give this world's Yuno her memories.

It had been truly worrying when she'd started to hear Yuno's voice in her head. _It_ definitely wouldn't have let her stop trying, even if she had wanted to. Murmur One had thought that it would disappear when she handed her memories over. And for a short time the Yuno in her head had gone away, or at the very least gone quiet.

But then, it had started to take over. At first, it had been small things. Giving Murmur One the urge to watch Yuki or evoking certain emotions. Then, the insane Yuno personality had made its presence known. Forcibly controlling her body at times, never relaxing enough for Murmur One to tell the others without it finding out.

Could it have been possible for Yuno's soul to exist within her for two years without her noticing?

Maybe, she certainly hadn't checked. The thought had never occurred to her during her incarceration, Murmur One had believed that Yuno's soul had already left her body when she'd swallowed her core. And for a while she'd been certain that this Yuno was only a set of memories.

But it seemed unlikely that only a set of memories could do this. And now, Murmur One couldn't check. Her senses were cut off.

Murmur One sincerely hoped that it was just a set of memories. Even after all this, she sympathized strongly with Yuno, surely the world wouldn't be so cruel as to torture her like this? The girl had already suffered enough, she deserved happiness with the one she loved.

* * *

Yuki stared at the back of Yuno's head as he tried to sleep. For the whole day, Yuno hadn't left him alone for more than a few minutes. Even now, she kept his arms on her sides, as if she couldn't allow him to let her go. Her insecurities seemed to be worse than ever. _But it's not so unreasonable for her to worry like this_ thought Yuki. _I do still care about the first world's Yuno. If her soul is in Murmur One, I'll do what I can do make her happy. But what I said was true, I love this Yuno._

"Yukki?" Yuno was still awake, she'd tried to think of ways to convince Yukki not to help the other Yuno. But she hadn't been able to come up with any arguments that would work. Which was because they really only boiled down to one reason, she didn't want Yukki to leave her.

"Yeah Yuno?" He unwrapped his arms from her waist as she turned around to face him.

"If you want to help the other me, I think I know the best way to do it. We're gods, even though we can't bring people back to life, it's easy enough to make bodies, right?"

"I guess. I never tried."

"Then here's what we can do. We'll make a body that's just like mine, put her soul into it and erase her memories. Then, she can take my place and we can live as gods here!"

"Are you serious?" Yuki got up in surprise. Was Yuno really willing to do that for the other Yuno? "Hold on. Even if we had to, that wouldn't work, she doesn't have any memories of this world. She couldn't live here."

"I can just give her my memories then. Yukki, it's a perfect solution. She won't be insane anymore and I'll be able to stay here with you." It really would be perfect. The other Yuno wouldn't remember anything and all the distractions in Yuno's life would disappear all at once. She wouldn't have to go to school, and her parents would be occupied with the other Yuno. Allowing her to focus on Yukki. _I might do it even if the other Yuno turns out to be a set of memories._

Yuki wasn't as overjoyed as Yuno. If they decided to do what she suggested, it would be harder than ever to convince her that their relationship would improve if they gave each other some space and didn't depend on each other so excessively. "Yuno, you don't have to let her replace you. Do you really want to leave your friends and family?"

"I do love my family and I do care about my friends," answered Yuno. "But I'd much rather be with you." _It's what I have to do to make sure you stay with me._

"I don't want you to do this because you think I'm going to leave you for her," said Yuki. "Don't do this Yuno."

"I can't let her take you from me!" Yuno suddenly exploded. "Why can't you understand that Yukki?! This is the only way! She'll be sane and won't be a part of your life anymore. I'll be here instead.

"Alright, alright. Calm down Yuno. If it turns out to be her, I won't stop you from doing it." _But that doesn't mean I won't try to convince you that it's unnecessary._

"Thank you." After a few moments she spoke again. "I'm sorry for getting angry like that. Yukki, you know you're the most precious thing in the world to me. If I have to give up everything else for you, then I'll gladly do it."

"I'd do the same for you," answered Yuki. But how could he convince her that she didn't have to? Now that Yuno believed there was a threat to their relationship, her mood swings had gotten worse and so had her fears.

Having such a powerful desire for another person. Fighting off all others who would threaten intimacy with them. Doing anything to be in their presence. That wasn't love, and Yuki wasn't sure anymore if the way Yuno felt toward him consisted of anything else.

Had he unintentionally encouraged her obsession in some way? Her devotion to him gave him mixed feelings. He had been surprised yet strangely glad that she felt that way for him. But he was afraid of taking advantage of it, he loved her and wanted the best for her.

If she was obsessed with him, 'the best for her' would probably be to leave her and let her overcome this obsession herself. But he couldn't, he loved her and wanted to be with her. Although not to the extent that Yuno seemed to wish for.

Yet above all, he wanted her to be happy, and he wasn't sure whether she would gain long-term happiness if their relationship was actually just him using her obsession for his own selfish desires.

He didn't know what to do. Any method he could try to distance himself from Yuno would probably make her chase after him much more fiercely. Letting her cling to him wouldn't solve these problems either. And he wouldn't make any progress if he didn't change anything.

Why did loving her have to be so difficult and complicated?

 **Author's Note:**

 **First of all, I've realized that I can't upload chapters as quickly as I used to. Not only have they now gotten much larger, they've also gotten much harder to write. In the beginning of this fanfic, I had a clear idea of what scenes I wanted to write. Now, it's a lot more difficult. I still have an outline for where I want this story to go, but I'm not completely sure how to get there.**

 **So I won't be able to say when a new chapter will be released like I used to. Although they'll probably still come out about once a week.**

 **Anyway, this chapter had the introduction of my OC Makamo Yora. You guys didn't get to see much of him, but I plan for him to become a lot more important later on. Since I'm fascinated by the minds of the characters, I inserted him in so I could have an excuse to explore them. But he still has a logical and meaningful purpose in the story.**

 **Also, I plan to change the rating of this story from T to M. I want to include some adult themes that definitely wouldn't pass for a T. (That doesn't just mean lemons) I'll do it in a week or two.**

 **Don't forget to Review, Favorite, & Follow. **


	14. Chapter 14: Just for One Day?

Chapter 14: Just for One Day?

The third world's Yuki looked at his phone. It was 14:38, September 13th.

September 13th, according to his memories it had been August 28th just three days ago. But now it was September, school had already started, but instead of going he'd been kidnapped, and he'd spent the day with the police.

"I'm just so glad that you're safe Yuki." Yuki's mother turned around from the front passenger seat of the car and put her hand on her son's knee. "I don't know what I would have done if-if . . ."

The third world's Yuki held her hand to reassure her. "Hey, it's okay mom. I'm here now."

"Do you really not remember anything?" asked his dad. "I mean, you were missing for two weeks."

"Two weeks," said Yuki. "For me, Moe was still alive and I was walking home only three days ago. And the only memory I have after that is being found by the police two days ago."

"Mom, Dad I'm scared. Who did this to me?"

"It's alright Yuki, we'll protect you." In an attempt to cheer him up, his mother pointed at a house. "Look, we're almost home!"

Home, when they'd returned home yesterday, right after speaking with the police, his parents had been so happy and relieved. His mother had cooked his favorite foods and they'd invited all of his friends to come and celebrate his return.

It hadn't seemed like a return to Yuki. He still had trouble accepting the fact that two weeks of his life had disappeared. To them, he'd disappeared and they'd missed him dearly. But to Yuki, he'd just seen them a couple of days ago. He hadn't known how to react when they became emotional.

The worst moments had been when he'd talked to those who had been mutual friends of him and Moe. They'd tried to hide the pain they felt over her death. But they'd had two weeks to accept it, Yuki had only found out the day before. That was the main reason why yesterday had been so painful. While everybody was celebrating, he'd just wanted to crawl into his bed and cry.

Thinking about her, he started to weep.

"What's wrong Yuki?" asked his mother as she noticed his tears.

"Moe's really dead, isn't she?" asked Yuki.

"You really liked her, didn't you?" replied his mom.

Yuki nodded in response. Too choked up to say anything.

"I did too," she answered. "She was a smart, kind girl. I'm sure you two would have led happy lives together."

He started to wipe away his tears and face away from his parents. Not wanting them to see him as an emotional wreck.

"It's okay to cry Yuki. It just shows that you really cared about her."

They arrived at their house and they all went inside. Yuki immediately found some tissues and cleaned himself up.

"Yeah, don't worry Yuki." His father said when Yuki came back to the living room. "The police will definitely find her killer and bring him to justice."

His mother pffed in skepticism. "I doubt it. They're useless. They only managed to find Yuki by pure luck, and they weren't making any progress with Wakaba's killer either."

"I think you're being too harsh honey. I'm sure they were doing their best," his father argued. "Besides, it's not fair for you to think badly of them just because they thought Yuki might have been the killer."

"What?!" yelled Yuki.

"Well, Yuki you have to admit it must seem pretty suspicious to people that you disappeared at the same time . . . as . . ." Yuki's dad stopped speaking as his wife stared daggers into him. "But that's only because they didn't know you! There's no way anyone close to you would think that you'd done it!"

"I . . . I guess," answered Yuki. "I'll go to my room now. Call me down if you need me."

"Alright, Yuki." _He's such a sensitive boy_ his mother thought approvingly. _He needs to get over her death in his own way._

She looked over at her husband. "You can be such an idiot sometimes."

He laughed nervously. "Yeah, but I'm your idiot."

"I guess so," she said with a sigh. But at the same time there was a small smile on her face.

* * *

School was over, so Yuno repeated her routine of packing up quickly to go meet Yukki.

"Gasai-san." Her teacher called out her name as she was about to walk out the door. "Where are you going? Don't you remember that you volunteered to help tutor your fellow students in math today?"

"Oh, um, yeah." When had she promised that? Oh right, a few days ago she'd had a conversation with him about math tutoring. She hadn't been paying attention to what he'd been saying, and just agreed with him, she had been eager to get back to Yukki.

Just like she was eager to be with him right now. How would she get out of this? She couldn't just ditch, and no good excuses came to mind. Saying that she had to meet her parents wouldn't work, he could just call them and find out she was lying.

She sat back down as the other students left. "Sorry, I forgot."

Maybe she could use her god powers and alter some memories. But Yukki had said he didn't want her to.

Well, if it was to be with him, she guessed it was fine. Besides, he wouldn't know.

Someone walked up beside her. "I'll tell on you if you do."

Yuno turned and saw it was Akise. "Do what?"

He shrugged and made sure the teacher couldn't hear them. "Mess with our teacher's head. Kill him. Or whatever else is going through your mind. You've been glaring at him this whole time."

Akise, he really deserved his role as an Observer. But he was bothering her. "Look, I want to be with Yukki. I'll just alter our teacher's mind a bit, I'm not going to kill him."

Akise considered using her god powers to manipulate people for her own selfish reasons wrong, it reminded him of how Deus had manipulated the diary holders for his sick game. Although Akise knew that wouldn't convince her. "I think Yukiteru would prefer it if you didn't 'alter' any minds just to be with him," he said calmly.

That seemed to work. Or make her reconsider at least.

"Well, I'm going to go now before you get a chance to do 'alter' my mind," said Akise He left the classroom. "Have fun with your tutoring!"

Akise casually jogged out of school and went to the police station. According to Nishijima, this world's Yukiteru had been with them the entire day. Hopefully, they'd discovered something that would help with Yukiteru's investigation.

"Hey Nishijima," he said as he entered a room and saw the policeman. "Do you have anything for me?"

"Well, we found out a lot," answered Nishijima. "But I'm not sure it'll be much help in finding the kidnapper." Even though Nishijima was aware of everything that was going on with the insane Yuno personality, it wasn't as if he could just blurt out the kidnapper's name in the police station. Someone could hear them, and it would seem very suspicious if it seemed like he knew who the perpetrator in this case was.

"Give it to me anyway."

"Well, here's the short version of what we discovered, you can look through these if you want more details." Nishijima handed over a folder with a bunch of files.

He began. "First of all, his memory is completely erased. We put Yukiteru through drug tests to see if some kind of memory-altering substance had been used. But we didn't find anything like that."

Well, that was unsurprising to the two of them. They both knew how his memories could have been erased.

"We did discover traces of sedatives in his bloodstream. So the kidnapper must have found him difficult to handle."

Or the insane Yuno personality had wanted a calm and easy to control Yukiteru to be with.

Nishijima continued. "His muscles are weak, which implies that he couldn't move much. He also has a small vitamin D deficiency, and he's rather pale so he was probably kept indoors."

"All in all, pretty much nothing useful to help us find the kidnapper. He's been talking with Makamo-san, you know him right?"

Ah, yes. The criminal psychologist, Akise had talked with him a few times. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, he and a bunch of other therapists haven't been able to get Yukiteru to remember anything from the past two weeks. But most of them agree that he isn't the killer, they say his personality doesn't fit.

"And if that wasn't enough to convince everyone that Yukiteru isn't responsible for her death," added Nishijima. "While we talked to him earlier today, someone called us and took the blame for Wakaba's death and the kidnapping. They gave us details of the murder that only the killer could have known, and it sounded like they used a text to voice program. We traced the call to a payphone, so that won't help us either."

Well, neither of them had really thought the police would be able to find Murmur One for them anyway. It was interesting information, but ultimately useless.

Akise sighed. He'd hoped that he'd have something to bring Yukiteru. "Thanks for telling me everything. I guess I'll go now. Can I take this with me?" He gestured towards the folder. He might figure something out from them if he knew the details.

"Sure."

As Akise walked out of the police station, he thought about Murmur One. None of them knew whether it really was the first world Yuno's soul taking control of her body. But if it was, he wasn't sure whether he could trust Yukiteru to deal with her. He probably still had feelings for her, which might explain why he was looking for her so fervently.

That insane Yuno personality. She was insane, but definitely not stupid. She knew that Yukiteru would want the people in this world to live happily. And it was amusing how she was trying to make up for killing Wakaba Moe by making sure there wouldn't be any problems for this world's Yukiteru. Trying to get on Yukiteru's good side.

It was alarming though, how similar this world's Yuno was becoming to the insane one. The look she'd given the teacher had been worrying. He'd have to bring that up with Yukiteru too.

He found a good hiding place to put his body in while he went to the Cathedral. "It's so tedious doing his every time," he said to himself. I wish I could just take my body with me like Yukiteru and Gasai-san do."

He entered the Cathedral. After a few seconds, Yuki appeared right in front of him. Wearing his cloak.

 _I actually felt his presence this time_ thought Yuki. That was good, if the insane Yuno or anyone else came to the Cathedral, he'd be able to tell. "Hey Akise, do you need something?"

"No, not really. I just came to tell you a few things I think you should hear."

"What?" asked Yuki.

"First of all, the police didn't manage to find anything we can use to find Murmur One. So I guess we'll go with your plan to look in the mind of this world's Yukiteru."

"Alright, I was going to do it tonight anyway."

"Secondly," continued Akise. "I think you'll have to keep a closer watch on Gasai-san. When our teacher needed her help for something today, she was going to manipulate his mind just to be with you."

"So that's why she didn't come here like she usually does." Yuki had been wondering about that, he'd thought that maybe his talk about them being more independent had gotten through to her. "So what stopped her?"

"I did. Her abuse of her powers like that . . . I know what it's like to be manipulated and controlled by a god. I don't want that to happen to anyone else. And especially not by a psychopath like her."

"I understand Akise," answered Yuki. "Deus did some horrible things, but Yuno's not like that, and she's not a psychopath."

"It's sweet how you're trying to defend the one you love." Akise smiled sadly, admiring Yuki's kindness and wishing that Yuki would feel that way about him. "But she's certainly not stable. I've seen signs of her mood swings at school, and even though you may not see it, she's certainly not a sweet and innocent girl."

"I know that," replied Yuki. "I've been trying to help her."

"Ah yes. After all, you do have a diary that mentions the problems you have with her."

"How do you know about that?" asked Yuki fearfully. "You didn't . . . find it, did you?"

Akise laughed. "No, no. The letter from Murmur One mentioned it." He suddenly became serious. "Yukiteru, what exactly are these 'problems' that you've been having with her?"

"Um . . . well, she's been a bit clingy recently," answered Yuki reluctantly. "It's like she comes to me every moment she can. I usually like being with her, but. . . . but I think it's better for us to spend some time apart occasionally. And I don't think she understands that.

"But that's not the big issue. Even after all this time, Yuno's still so afraid and insecure. I know this mess with the other Yuno has probably made it worse. But it's still worrying. I just want to do what I can to help her, but nothing I've done seems to work."

"Is she really worth it Yukiteru?"

"Of course Akise, I love her! Look, I know it might look like it to you but to me these problems are something she and I can solve. I'd do anything for her. Haven't you ever felt that way about somebody?"

"I do Yukiteru," Akise tilted his head and looked at him. "Don't you know already?"

"Huh? Don't I know what?" he asked, confused.

"You really don't," murmured Akise. "I love you Yukiteru."

"What?" Yukiteru wasn't sure he'd heard that correctly. "You love . . . _me_?"

This time, Akise really let loose with his laughter. "Why do you think I kissed you?" he asked while chuckling.

"I . . . I thought it was to make Yuno angry so you could win your fight against her."

"If that had been the only reason, there would have been other ways. I also did it because I wanted to," he added.

"Well . . . Akise, I don't, you know, feel that way about . . . " Yuki said awkwardly.

"I know Yukiteru," interrupted Akise. "You love Yuno, and you're not even attracted to men. I accepted that a while ago, even though it still hasn't changed how I feel about you."

"Akise, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to," said Yuki. "But why do you feel that way about me? I don't really understand what you or Yuno see in me."

"Don't think so badly of yourself Yukiteru. You have plenty of good qualities, you're kind, smart, and you don't give up. Just look at how hard you're trying to help Gasai-san."

Yuki didn't really think that those characteristics didn't fit him. _I'm not kind, I've killed lots of people. People that weren't even involved in the survival game. Yuno and Akise are smarter than I am. And there were plenty of times when I had given up during the game, but Yuno had protected me. And the only reason I won't give up now is because I love her._

"Thanks for saying that Akise," Yuki replied gratefully. "But those words don't describe me."

"They do Yukiteru. But love isn't really a conscious choice, is it? It's something you just feel."

"Except maybe in my case," Akise continued bitterly. "According to Deus, he manipulated my emotions to make me feel this way. My love for you, my curiosity, he called them all fake and artificial."

"Akise . . . if Deus was the one who made you feel this way, do you want me to change your emotions back? It can't be easy for you seeing me with Yuno."

He smiled. "Thank you for the offer Yukiteru. But I've had enough of gods changing my emotions. I'll get over you the way everybody else gets over not being able to be with their first love. Well, maybe everybody except Gasai-san."

"Okay then. About Yuno . . . could you talk to her later and say that she doesn't need to come to the Cathedral today? Try to convince her that it would be best if she were with her friends or family right now. I'm not very good at saying no to her."

"Sure. Bye Yukiteru." Akise waved and left the Cathedral.

* * *

Finally! It was over. Yuno had spent almost two hours in school tutoring other students. _I should have listened more carefully when I'd agreed to do it_ she admonished herself.

Now, she could return to Yukki! She was about to enter the Cathedral when she saw Akise running toward her.

"Gasai-san! Hold on, I have a message from Yukiteru."

From Yukki? Why would he ask Akise to send her a message? Was he out of the Cathedral for some reason?

She would know if Akise hadn't stopped her from going earlier!

"What is it?" she asked, irritated.

"Before I tell you," said Akise. "Are you aware of the saying, 'don't kill the messenger'?"

"Huh?"

"Just keep that in mind." Akise said. "Yukiteru doesn't you to go to him tonight."

She stared at him for a few moments. "You're lying. Yukki wants me to be with him."

"No Gasai-san, not right now he doesn't."

"Shut up you smug bastard! You don't know him!" she yelled. "He loves me! Why wouldn't he want me with him?!"

"Because you're smothering him, he needs space, and he's too kind to tell you when he doesn't want you to be with him," he answered calmly. "Can you really not leave him alone for one day? That's all he asks."

"You made him angry at me, didn't you?" asked Yuno accusingly. "You made him mistrust me. Why are you interfering?! He's mine!"

"I'm perfectly aware of that." Akise started to lose his cool. "He loves you, and if you really do love him, how about you respect his wishes?" He held up a finger. "One day. Are you so obsessed that you can't leave him alone for that long? He was probably already with you this morning."

Yuno frowned, the comment about her being obsessed with Yukki bothered her. "Fine, but you're not my friend anymore." She walked off to her house. _I'm not obsessed with Yukki, I just love him. Is it wrong that I want to spend so much time with him? Am I bothering him?_

She remembered what Yukki had said about them needing to be less dependent on each other. Even now she didn't see what he had meant, what was the problem with her needing him?

Yuno desperately wanted to be with him, to rush to the Cathedral despite what Akise had said. The only thing that stopped her was the possibility that Akise was right. That she was obsessed. That she might want Yukki so badly that she'd drive him away again.

She wasn't sure if she could endure that again. Those two years without him and these two happy months had shown her how much she loved and needed him.

So she'd leave Yukki alone if that was what he wanted. Despite her wishes.

Yuno reflected on everything that had happened. These memories really had changed her. Before, she'd been a normal girl. With friends and a family, the only thing that was wrong in her life had been the absence of Yukki.

Now, she knew the sacrifices that had been made so she could have them. She was different now, she became emotional much more easily, especially about Yukki. He was practically the only thing she could think about. Yuno looked down at her hand. But those weren't the only changes. Violence was almost second nature to her now. Before she'd received these memories, she would have been horrified at a few of the things she had done during the survival game. At the time, most of them had just come naturally to her.

It was painful at times, sometimes she felt like she was actually losing her mind. Her occasional nightmares were especially difficult to deal with.

But she'd happily endure it for the sake of Yukki.

* * *

It was 22:30, Yuki and the Murmurs prepared to go into the mind of his third world self. Hopefully, he'd be asleep by now, if not, they'd wait another ten minutes.

Okay, good, he was asleep. Now they'd look through his memories.

 _There's a strong mental block here_ noted Murmur Three.

 _Yeah, it'll take us a while to get through it_ replied Murmur Two.

 _Well, we have plenty of time_ said Yuki.

He'd planned to help them, but he wasn't experienced enough with his god powers. He mostly watched as the Murmurs carefully teased their way through the barrier. Careful not to cause any damage to this world's Yuki and make sure he wouldn't remember anything about his kidnapping.

It didn't take them too long, perhaps only a few minutes.

 _How come you couldn't break through the mental block in Yuno's mind?_ asked Yuki.

 _That one was much stronger than this one_ answered Murmur Two. _It only removed the memories of a few minutes from her. This one holds the memories of two weeks, the memories it has to hold back weaken it. But even accounting for that, it seems weaker than it should be._

The three of them looked through the memories of this world's Yuki.

 _Yuki walked home. He'd accompanied his girlfriend Wakaba Moe to her house earlier. He still couldn't believe it, that she felt that same way about him. Her, the smart and pretty-_

 _Everything went black._

 _He woke up. He tried to move around but he couldn't, was he tied up in a chair? He looked up._

 _There was a girl in front of him. She looked familiar . . . that was right, he'd seen her around school a few times and Moe had talked about her, she was an honors student too. What was her name again?_

" _Gasai-san? What's going on? Where am I?"_

" _Yukki! You're awake!" She leaped toward him happily. "Don't worry about where you are right now, just calm down and relax."_

 _He looked around. The room was about the size of a classroom and completely gray. There was a bed on the side and some clothes hanging on the side. There was a screen behind her but he couldn't see what was on it._

" _Why am I tied up? Did you . . . did you kidnap me?!"_

" _Well . . . yes. But I did it before and you forgave me. So when you fall in love with me again, you'll forgive me for this, right?" she asked. She looked hopefully at him._

 _"What?" This girl had kidnapped him, and she was speaking nonsense. He tried to reassure himself, it would be okay, the police would find him. As long as she didn't kill him or anything, it would be fine._

 _"You'll understand what I mean later Yukki," she said casually. She looked back at the screen. "Sorry Yukki, I have to go now." She walked toward him and bent down._

 _Was she . . . was she going to kiss him?! He moved his head back to avoid her, he couldn't kiss a lunatic like her! Besides, he had a girlfriend!_

 _She noticed this. "So, it's too early for that," she said sadly. She hugged him, "I'll be back later."_

She had come back later, and after the first few days of his kidnapping the insane Yuno had kept him sedated. The only memories he'd had after that were of a drug-induced haze.

While looking through them, Yuki became frustrated. _Damn it! These memories are useless!_ She hadn't even let this world's Yukiteru out of the room even once during those two weeks. And the room itself gave no hint of its location.

Yuki had put his hopes on these memories being the clue they needed to find the other Yuno. But she'd been too careful.

 _Calm down Yuki_ saidMurmur Two. _We can still use Ninth's plan._

The plan that basically used him as bait to catch the insane Yuno. They truly were getting desperate if they had to resort to that.

 _Okay_ said Yuki. _I guess we're done here then. Let's leave._ But he didn't leave.

 _Hold on a second_ addedYuki. _I'm going to stay here a bit._

 _Why?_ asked Murmur Three.

 _I'm going to look through this Yuki's memories some more. I'm curious about his life._

 _Well . . . okay then_ replied Murmur Two. _We'll be in the Cathedral then._

The Murmurs left the mind of the third world's Yuki, leaving Yuki alone with him to look through his memories.

First, he looked at the time when his parents had separated in the second world. What had stopped them from doing so in this world?

Yuki found his answer. For some reason, John Bacchus, the Eleventh, had given Yuki's father more time to pay his debts. Wait . . . was that a memory of the mayor arm in arm with the Eighth? She certainly seemed to have softened him.

So, Yuki's father had realized the trouble his debts were causing and solved them. As a result, he and Yuki's mother had managed to stay together.

He saw that life for this world's Yuki truly became different at that point. Over the past two years he hadn't become as much of a loner, he'd made friends and had more confidence to ask out Wakaba Moe.

Well, he'd had his main questions answered, but for some strange reason, Yuki decided to keep watching. Exploring more of his third world self.

Eventually, he looked to about a year ago, when he'd first met Yuno in the second world. For his dream for the future, this Yuki had written that he wanted to be a programmer like his mother.

 _Yuno must not have had much trouble writing about her future either. So she never noticed this world's me having trouble with his future. And she never needed him to give her one._ It was upsetting to Yuki on a deep level. _Is that really the only reason for our love?_

Before he could think of an answer for himself, a voice brought him back to the Cathedral.

"Yukki!"

Yuno was hugging him, but more than that, he felt her presence. She must have come only a few minutes ago at most. He'd been too occupied with his third world self to notice.

He instinctively hugged her back. Then he remembered what he'd asked Akise to tell her, Yuki assumed that she had listened to his request. But then what was she doing here?

"Yuno . . ." he looked at her, she was in a pink nightdress and had there were no ties in her hair. "Didn't Akise tell you? We were supposed to spend the rest of the day apart."

"Look . . ." Yuno held up her phone. "It's past midnight, so we already _did_ spend a day apart. Yesterday." She giggled.

"That wasn't what I meant," said Yuki.

"I know Yukki, but you weren't specific enough!" she joked. "Come on, don't be so upset, I did what you asked."

"One day's not that long Yuno. Especially not for us, we'll probably live for thousands of years. Couldn't you wait?" _Are you that obsessed with me?_ he thought.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy, don't you want to be with me?" she asked, saddened. "Don't you love me? I love you."

Yuki thought about how this love had never arisen between Yuno and this world's Yuki. Because she hadn't needed emotional support like she had in the other worlds, or like she did now. "Is your love really that different from obsession Yuno?"

"Why would you ask that?" She noticed that he hadn't answered her question. "Of course it is. I care about you, it's not like how it was before, during the survival game. And you love me, right?"

"I do Yuno."

Her mood improved immensely. "Then let's go to sleep." She'd been looking forward to this more than usual, she hadn't seen him since the morning. She grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go."

Yuki wanted to. She looked so happy and beautiful at this moment, and only because she wanted to sleep in the same bed as him. It was wonderful, having her warm body beside him as he slept, but he couldn't. "No Yuno." He pulled his hand back. "If you can't even spend a day apart from me, then you won't improve if we do that. Go home and sleep Yuno."

"But . . . but . . . I wanted to-

"Go home Yuno," he said.

She put her head down. "Okay Yukki, if you think that's best. But we'll do it later today, right?"

"Maybe," he said.

"Oh, alright then." She moved to kiss him, but Yukki moved away and didn't kiss her back.

"Bye Yuno," he said.

"B-Bye Yukki."

She left the Cathedral and entered her bedroom. She turned the light on. _Why didn't he kiss me? Why? Why? Wh-_

Yuno looked over at the flowers that Yukki had gotten her a few days ago. They were dying.

No! She didn't know why, but she couldn't let them die. She couldn't! She ran to the kitchen and got a cup of water and some sugar. She added them to the vase, hoping that it would be enough to keep them alive.

"Please don't die, please don't die," she begged, not knowing why she felt tears on her cheeks.

She went to sleep, her face still wet.

 **Well, a bit of a depressing note to leave on but hey, if this was just a story of them living happily ever after, it wouldn't really be an interesting story.**

 **This fanfiction is going on a lot longer than I had planned. These scenes almost always seem to become incredibly long. In fact, I think this chapter might be the longest in the story so far.**

 **By the way, some of you seem to think that Yuno is going crazy again. That's not really true, she's been this way ever since she came back to Yuki, there just hadn't been a reason for her to act this way in the beginning of the fanfic. She had Yuki all to herself for a couple of months, living out what must seem like the perfect life for her.**

 **But that was in the summer, now she has to go to school, so she can't be with him as much as she wants. And Murmur One is worsening Yuno's stability, she fears that Yuki will go to the other Yuno. Leading to her becoming more possessive. Also, for two whole years, Yuki's absence in her life was rather prominent. She couldn't remember him, but she knew that she had forgotten something important. Now that she's reunited with him, it might be reasonable to say she's** _ **more**_ **dependent on him than before.**

 **Anyways, next chapter will be up sometime next week. Or maybe during this weekend if I have the time.**

 **And remember:**

 **R F F (Review, Favorite, Follow)**


	15. Chapter 15: The Records

Chapter 15: The Records

Yuki woke up.

Last night . . . it had been very difficult for him. He'd been firm and told Yuno what they needed to do to improve their relationship.

He just wished she hadn't looked so sad when he'd told her to go home. And when he had denied her kiss, she'd been devastated. He should have kissed her back, at the very least, she deserved it for going along with his request without arguing. But he couldn't have, if he got too close to her it would have weakened his resolve and he would have done anything to make her happy again.

Yuki cursed himself for being so weak.

Making Yuno happy, at times like these it was difficult to reassure himself that what he was doing would give her long-term happiness. But it was a serious problem, if she couldn't bear to be away from him for a day, she'd have to learn to be less dependent on him.

Still, he'd missed her last night. Apart from wanting to make Yuno feel better, he'd had the selfish impulse to stay with her regardless of her mental well-being. To hold her and feel her warm body at his side as he slept. When they were in bed together their relationship seemed so much simpler. Yuno, calm and resting, usually with a cute smile on her face. It was almost as if there was no Murmur One or mental instability to worry about.

Yes, it really was nice being with her like that. He should really make it up to her later today, after he carried out his plan. Maybe they could have another date. _Yeah, it'll be fine as long as I disguise myself. We could go have fun like kids instead of having to worry to about these things._

He snapped out of his daydreaming. _First I have to talk with the Murmurs and the Ninth about capturing the other Yuno_ he reminded himself.

* * *

"How in the world did you get in here?!" Nishijima Minene quickly grabbed her son out from the top of a kitchen cabinet. She had to fly up in order to reach him.

He was hardly a year old and he'd already managed to fly into several dangerous places. And his sister would probably have done the same if Minene and her husband hadn't taken precautions. "Seriously, you kids are such a pain in the ass," she said as she pulled him down.

He started crying, almost as if he had understood what she had said, which caused his mother to immediately soften.

"There, there Kasuko." Minene landed back on the floor and started to slowly rock him in her arms. "Mommy's sorry, she didn't mean it. Hey, look!" She materialized her right hand. This usually managed to get her babies' attention.

It did this time as well. "Mama," the child stopped crying and clapped its hands. Watching the patterns on his mother's hand shift and change.

"Now, let's go make sure Miyuki isn't up to no good." She walked to her children's room. She looked in her daughter's crib and saw she was still asleep.

"Good," she said, relieved. They usually didn't float when they were asleep. She was about to go to another room when she noticed that her son was strangely silent and still.

He'd fallen asleep as well. "Well, that makes it easier to take care of you two." Minene gently put him down in a crib right next to his sister.

Caring for kids was so stressful, now she knew why she'd always thought that married couples were insane for having them. But, she also knew that they were worth far more than the trouble it was taking care of them. She'd been reduced to tears the first time she'd held Kasuko in her arms, the beautiful, precious creature that she'd nurtured inside her body for nine months. It had been the same with Miyuki.

Her daughter, she often told her husband that she would have never had another child if she'd known about the powers they would have. Kasuko had only been a few months old when her husband had convinced her to have another.

Even then she'd thought it had been too soon to have another child. She would have liked to wait a while before going through the pain of childbirth again, and she certainly hadn't liked the extra weight she'd kept after having Kasuko.

Although, Nishijima hadn't seemed to mind when he'd crawled into bed beside her and managed to convince her to go for another kid.

And when she'd first seen her beautiful daughter. She'd known that she'd love Miyuki no matter what.

"Yep," she squeezed her daughter's cheek slightly. "Mommy loves you."

"Umm . . . Ninth?" asked a voice behind her.

She turned and blushed in embarrassment. "Yukiteru? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I-

"Get out!" she whispered loudly. Not wanting to disturb her babies. "Go to another room!"

After Yuki went to the living room, she followed him and started yelling. "Haven't you heard of a door?! Or not breaking into other people's homes!" She wasn't really that upset over his entrance, but he'd just seen a private moment with her children and she wanted an excuse to get angry at him.

"Well . . . I didn't really break in . . ." he argued. "I just got here from the Cathedral."

"Look, the next time you come here, knock on the front door first," said Minene. "Just because you're a god, it doesn't mean that you can just barge in."

"Sorry, I will next time," apologized Yuki. "But I need your help for something. Can you come to the Cathedral with me?"

"How long will this take?" she asked.

"Not too long, less than ten minutes," he promised.

Ten minutes. Surely her children wouldn't float into any dangerous places in ten minutes, she hoped. "Fine, but hold on a second."Minene went to a drawer and found some string. "I need to do something; I'll be at the Cathedral in a few minutes."

"Alright." Yuki disappeared, presumably to the Cathedral.

Minene took the string and went to her children. She couldn't take the risk, so she'd have to tie them to their cribs. As she did so, she realized how ridiculous this would look. _Seriously, what other parents have to deal with flying children?_ Maybe Yukiteru or Yuno would be able to fix this with their god powers. Minene didn't really have any idea of how to do so, but that was probably only because Deus had given her half of his power and knowledge.

"Alright, done." Their arms and legs were tied to the sides of their cribs. Although not too tightly, they could still move them around a bit. They'd probably only be able to rise a few centimeters at most.

Deciding that this was safe enough, Minene went to the Cathedral.

They were all in the throne room. Both Murmurs, Yuki, and now Minene. She remembered what time it was and realized that Yuno was probably still at school.

"So what do you need me here for?" she asked.

"We're going to use me as bait to catch the other Yuno," answered Yuki. "We have an idea of where she is, but it's not good enough for us to capture her with."

"Oh? And where would that be?"

"The Akashic Records."

She blinked, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. "The Akashic Records?"

"Yeah, we realized it earlier today," he explained. "Murmur Three was getting the cage from there and when she came back, I realized that I couldn't feel her presence. So I asked her if the Records were a part of the Cathedral."

Murmur Three continued the story. "The truth is that it kind of is and isn't. It's a link between the Cathedral and Earth, since it gathers information from the world and brings it here. Because I and other servants of Deus constantly moved from the Cathedral to the Akashic Records and back, we decided it was too bothersome to have our presence felt each time to indicate our position.

"So, if someone goes to the Records and comes back to the Cathedral, we won't feel their presence. And it's the same if one goes from the world to the Records. At least in the case of divine servants or gods. We had modified it so if someone else came we'd feel their presence, like when Yuno entered the Records two months ago as a human. But since the insane Yuno personality is in the body of Murmur One, she doesn't set off any alarms."

Yuki nodded. "Yeah. So that's the only place she could be. Somewhere she could enter the Cathedral and the third world without being detected. But there's a big problem."

"The Akashic Records are too big. Apparently, they have to be to contain all that information. So just knowing she's there isn't enough, just looking for her blindly won't work. So we have to search for her. Her letter said she'd only trust me, which is why I have to go alone. And she could probably see you guys if you followed me, so instead, you three will have to stay here and be ready to help."

Minene whistled. "Wow, you really thought this through. Although, I don't like the idea of staying here while you go off looking for a lunatic by yourself."

"It'll be fine," assured Yuki. "You guys can come to my aid if I need you, right?"

"Right," said the two Murmurs.

"Sure Yuki," answered Minene.

"Good, hopefully it shouldn't take too long," said Yuki. "Since she's obsessed with me, she'll probably be using the records to keep track of me."

"Wait, then how do we know that she's not watching us right now?" asked Minene.

"We thought of that." answered Murmur Two. "Don't worry, Murmur Three and I took care of it. Right now, the Records aren't recording us."

"But won't she realize we're up to something if she tries to watch us and fails?" added Minene.

"We have to take that risk, we couldn't let her in on our plan," replied Yuki. "But that's why the Records will start recording after I leave. During that time, you three will have to act normally for a minute or two while I go in the Records, just in case she starts watching. Don't watch me, and one of you should mention that I said I'm going to the Records, that'll probably get her attention on me."

"I know I've already said this, but I'm impressed Yuki, you actually have a plan this time besides saving everyone you can," complimented Minene. "But it's a dangerous plan, she could come in less than a minute. And I'm not sure you'll be able to subdue her if she becomes violent."

"I'll make sure to stall her for a couple of minutes," answered Yuki. "And remember, you guys will need to help if she does anything dangerous."

"You really aren't a naïve kid anymore," whispered Minene, too low for anybody to hear. She felt a strange pride, he certainly had changed from the frightened child she'd helped years ago.

"Well, I'm going now." Yuki flew up. "You guys know what part of the Records I'll be in." He smiled nervously. "Hopefully I'll be back with Murmur One and the other Yuno, if it really is her."

He flew off. At the same time, the Murmurs had the Records start recording events in the Cathedral again.

"Where's Yukiteru?" asked Minene, starting the act already. "Messing around with the Second?" She looked at her phone, even though she already knew what time it was. "Never mind, she's probably still in school. So where is he?"

"He said that he was going to the Akashic Records," added Murmur Three.

"Huh? How come?"

"He just said that he wanted to be alone for a bit, and that he'd be going to the Records," Murmur Two repeated the word so the insane Yuno personality would get the hint.

Minene thought of something else to say. "Well, what part did he go to? I need to ask him something."

"Where Murmur One's old prison is," answered Murmur Two. "Maybe he thinks there could be a clue there that we missed."

"Well, he'd better not take too long. I have kids to take care of." Minene stopped speaking for a few seconds. "Okay, that's a minute, let's check in on him now."

Murmur Two made a screen appear in front of them and they watched as Yuki made his way through the Akashic Records.

* * *

"There, it's done!" exclaimed the insane Yuno happily. "Yukki will definitely love this!"

It had taken her a while, but she'd made this part of the Akashic Records look as much as Yukki's old house as possible. She'd spent days making sure it would be perfect for him.

 _Yukki. Yukki._ She wondered what he was doing right now. She checked the time, the fake Yuno was still at school. So she wouldn't have to watch as she fooled Yukki.

 _That bitch!_ The insane Yuno hit the wall with her fist. _I'm the one he loves! Not you, you're only this world's version of me! I spent time with him in the last world! I fought for him! I died for him!_

When she got like this, it was very difficult for her to resist the urge to take a sharp weapon and kill the fake Yuno. The body of Murmur One didn't have any seals on it, and the fake Yuno had just been made into a god. The insane Yuno was confident that she could defeat her. Also the fake Yuno still had a human body, even if she was a god, so she could be killed like any human.

The insane Yuno knew this thanks to the memories of Murmur One. While Yukki and the fake Yuno could use their god powers to keep themselves young and heal injuries, they could still be killed if they were injured badly enough and prevented from healing themselves.

She looked at the hole in the wall. _Damn it._ She'd used Murmur One's power when she'd made that hole. She looked down at her hand. It was bleeding and bruised. The insane Yuno healed herself and fixed the hole.

She'd altered her body into a human form as well. After all, she was sure that was what Yukki wanted. And she wanted to explore all the benefits of being human with him. She blushed while thinking about it.

After laying on the bed in a comfortable position she made a screen appear in front of her and decided to look at the Cathedral. That was where Yukki usually was.

 _Huh? What's going on?_ The screen wasn't showing anything. She made it disappear and formed another one. Still nothing.

"Show me Yukki!" The insane Yuno got more and more frustrated. Was she going to be deprived of even being able to see Yukki now?! No! It wasn't fair! "Let me see him!" She screamed at it uselessly.

Suddenly, it showed her the throne room. She was incredibly relieved by the sight; it was working again. _But Yukki isn't there_ she realized. It was just the Ninth and the two Murmurs talking.

The insane Yuno was about to change the view when Ninth asked where Yukki was. That was what she needed to know. In a few moments, they mentioned that he was in the part of the Akashic Records with Murmur One's old prison.

She immediately switched the scene to where Yukki was.

He was flying around in a tunnel in the Akashic Records. _You're so handsome in that cloak Yukki._

He was speaking, but there was nobody else around him. "Yuno. The first world's Yuno. If it's really you in Murmur One, please come to me. I need you."

 _Yukki said he needs me!_ For a moment, the insane Yuno just watched the screen in shock.

 _He's figured out the truth, that I'm the one he loves!_ The insane Yuno was overjoyed as she came to believe that her wishes were coming true. _I have to go to him!_ Without hesitating she opened a hole in space to Yukki.

"Yukki!" exclaimed the insane Yuno as she emerged and saw him. She flew to him and hugged him.

When Yuki had seen her arrive just a few meters from him, he'd had to stop himself from flying away in panic. He had to tread carefully with this Yuno, he couldn't accidentally set her off. So he accepted her hug.

It was unsettling how much her body felt and looked like Yuno's. _Damn it, she even smells like her._

But he still smiled. The plan had worked! She was here, now all he needed to do was persuade her to come back to the Cathedral. He didn't want to trap her again, he'd seen how distressed she'd become at being stuck in another cage. Hopefully, he could convince her with his words.

When he pulled back and saw her eyes he had to force himself to keep smiling. She was frightening. One look and he knew that her obsession with him was stronger than ever. He'd never seen Yuno want him so badly before, the closest he could think of was the look she'd given him after he'd first learned the rules of the survival game. That had been frightening enough.

But now, she believed that he loved her. That he belonged to her now. He feared that she would never give him up.

"I'm so happy to see you." lied Yuki. "I've missed you." He tried to pretend that the girl in front of him was this world's Yuno. The one that he loved. Even with her insane expression, Yuki was surprised by how easy it was.

No! _This world's Yuno isn't like this, she isn't!_ Yuki needed to believe that, but . . . it really wasn't that difficult to imagine that this world's Yuno would make the same expression.

The insane Yuno wept tears of joy. "Oh, Yukki. Finally, you've realized that she isn't me. We can be happy together!" She cried on his shoulder.

He couldn't do it. He knew that he should lie and go along with whatever she wanted while finding a way to convince her to go to the Cathedral with him. But this was too cruel.

"Mu- Yuno . . . please, let Murmur One have her body back," requested Yuki. Telling her that he loved the other Yuno would be the wrong move. There was no chance the insane Yuno would just accept that and go quietly to the Cathedral with him.

"No Yukki. I can't, I'll die if I do."

"Look, if you come to the Cathedral with me, the other Yuno and I will make a body for you," said Yuki. He'd only do it if this Yuno turned out to have the first world Yuno's soul. There wouldn't be any point in doing so, a set of memories couldn't bring life to a body.

"But then, when will we kill the other Yuno?" she asked.

"Kill?" he repeated nervously. "We can't kill her!"

Her eyes darkened. "Of course we have to kill her! How else will we punish her for trying to take you from me?! She has to die!"

Yuki flew toward her and hugged her to try and calm her down. "Yuno . . . please don't do it. If you come back with me to the Cathedral, she and I can help you. You can live happily."

"We have to get rid of her!" Yukki wasn't making any sense. How could she live happily when the fake Yuno was still there? "It has to be just the two of us, I won't be happy until then!"

"Try to understand Yuno," he pleaded. "You can be happy without me, look, this world's Yuno even offered to let you live her life in this world." It was a solution that Yuki didn't want to use but he mentioned it in the hope that it might convince her.

"Then, you're going to be with her, aren't you?" The insane Yuno was hardly aware of her own body as she flew down to the ground and collapsed on her knees. "She still has you fooled." She started weeping, and this time, the tears in her eyes were of despair.

"Leave her Yukki," she begged. "I need you, I'm the real Yuno."

"Maybe you are," said Yuki, descending in front of her. "But she is too. I promised to be with her, but that doesn't mean I don't love you." He wasn't lying anymore, he realized. This was the truth; he loved this Yuno too, even though she was an insane murderer. He loved her and that was why he had to help her.

"Come to the Cathedral with me." Yuki offered her his hand. "I love you and I want you to be happy."

"I . . . I . . ." She didn't know what to do! She'd thought this had been it, the moment when she and Yukki could live happily together forever. "Okay Yukki," answered the insane Yuno in an empty voice.

 _She agreed!_ Yuki was thrilled that he'd managed to convince her. He'd thought it would be much more difficult to do so.

"But before we go, please . . ." she looked up at him hopefully. "Will you kiss me one last time?"

"I- alright Yuno," answered Yuki. _It's just one kiss_ he reassured himself. He didn't want to betray this world's Yuno like this, but if he didn't the insane Yuno might change her mind.

He helped the insane Yuno up and turned his head to kiss her. _Just pretend that she's this world's Yuno._ He closed his eyes and held her in his arms. She felt like Yuno. She smelled like her. He kissed her, she even tasted the same.

He needed to know now. Was this actually the first world's Yuno or not? He pulled back. _I'll just use my god powers to see if Yuno's sou-_

Yuki felt a sharp pain before everything went dark.

* * *

The Murmurs and Minene watched as Yuki kissed the insane Yuno.

"Tch, he shouldn't be doing that right now," said Minene disapprovingly.

"You can't blame him for being fooled," defended Murmur Two. "She's done a good job of making herself look like Yuno."

Minene ignored the excuse. "He should be more careful."

As the insane Yuno kissed Yukki, she held onto him more tightly. _It's been so long,_ she couldn't let him leave her again. She needed him. Without Yukki, her life was meaningless.

But how?! How could she stop him from leaving her?! How could she show him that _she_ was the real Yuno, not the girl that had fooled him? She kissed him more passionately in an attempt to show him. _See my love for you? Why can't you see Yukki? It's me, me!_

Yukki was pulling away from her. _No! It's too soon!_ Yukki was leaving her again and going to the fake Yuno. _I won't let you!_

The insane Yuno knew what to do to stop him. She formed a dark knife in her right hand. She hardly even thought about it, knives were the weapons she was most familiar with.

"You idiot!" yelled Minene when she saw the knife. "Quick, let's go!" she ordered the Murmurs.

The three left the Cathedral through a hole in space and reappeared in front of the insane Yuno. Just in time to see her carrying Yuki's limp body.

Minene feared the worst. _Is he dead?_ "You fucking psychopath!" she screamed at the insane Yuno and leapt at her, materializing her right hand in an attempt to grab her. Or rip out her throat, she was so mad that she wasn't sure which.

The insane Yuno dodged and flew away with Yuki's body.

Murmur Three was about to attack her with the sphere, but she couldn't risk attacking Yukiteru. "Damn it." She summoned dark arms to grab her instead.

The insane Yuno saw the arms coming for her and dark arms materialized around her to counter Murmur Three's. This was bad, she needed to get away. Murmur One's body was unsealed, and she could easily defeat one of them alone. But she doubted that she could win a three on one fight.

 _Sorry Yukki,_ she thought regretfully. _I have to use you as a shield._ She easily overpowered Murmur Three, and flew away. The insane Yuno tried to keep an eye on all three of them and hold Yukki so that he was between her and them.

Minene realized that all three of them were in the insane Yuno's field of view and flew to the side. Minene saw that she was using Yuki's body as a shield, there wasn't any blood or injuries. That must mean he was alive!

Minene had never learned to attack with the black substance that the Murmurs used. She was best at close combat with these god powers. So when she'd moved far enough to the side, she flew directly to the insane Yuno. She raised her right hand again, but she couldn't attack, the insane Yuno was holding Yuki right in front of her.

That was fine, she hadn't expected to get a hit in like this anyway. Minene saw Murmur Two behind the insane Yuno. Good, she'd understood.

 _She wouldn't attack Yukki, would she?_ The insane Yuno worried as Ninth didn't seem to be slowing down. Then, she looked behind her, away from the Ninth. _It's a sneak attack!_ she realized. They were planning to-

She screamed as Murmur Two hit her in the head with a black arm. The insane Yuno hit the side of the tunnel and dropped to the floor. She felt dizzy but somehow, she'd managed to hold on to Yukki. _Oh good, he's still safe,_ she thought when she saw that he'd landed on her and hadn't hit the wall.

The insane Yuno needed to escape somehow, but she couldn't think very clearly. She summoned dark missiles but she couldn't trust herself to aim.

So instead, she made them hit all around her and made a smoke cloud.

"Oh no you don't!" Minene rushed in. She couldn't let the insane Yuno escape. "You two make sure she doesn't fly off! I'll get her." she said to the Murmurs.

The insane Yuno heard Ninth's strategy. _Hah, I win,_ she thought proudly. She left Yukki on the ground, they'd still think she'd be using him as a shield. She went as far out to the right of Ninth's voice as she could while staying in the cloud. The insane Yuno had left Yukki roughly in the middle of the smoke, that was probably where the Ninth would go.

The Ninth flew in and stayed aware of her surroundings. After a few moments, she saw something. "Yukiteru!" She flew toward him and carried his body. Had the insane Yuno escaped without him? She looked around but couldn't see anything.

The insane Yuno heard the Ninth and flew at her from her left with a knife. Her expression bloodthirsty and frightening. She stabbed her and laughed maniacally as the Ninth collapsed. _Ha! That's what happens to anyone who tries to take Yukki from me!_

The Murmurs felt chills as they heard the insane Yuno's crazed laughter. What had happened? Murmur Three used her sphere to blow away the dust and smoke.

Yuki and the insane Yuno were nowhere to be seen. Minene was lying on the ground, and a pool of blood from her wound was growing.

"Quick, we have to heal her!" Murmur Three flew down and began to close the wound. Murmur Two went to her side and helped her. Within a few minutes, Minene got up.

"Damn it!" Minene hit the ground with her fist in frustration. "I let my guard down, she got me from my blind side." She held her hand up to her eyepatch. _That was a genius move,_ she thought bitterly, _rushing into a dust cloud when I only have one eye._

"Where'd they go?" asked Minene and looked around.

"She escaped," answered Murmur Two.

"So, we failed to get her," said Minene. "And not only that, now Yukiteru's in the hands of a lunatic."

"Let's go to the Cathedral and think of our next step," suggested Murmur Three. "We'll need Yuno's help, considering how badly we failed here."

"Yeah, I guess you need a psychopath to kill one," said Minene. She wasn't joking. "We certainly could have used her help." _You made a mistake in not trusting that girl with this plan Yukiteru._

They flew to the Cathedral at a leisurely pace. "So who's going to break the news to Yuno?" asked Minene. "I certainly don't want to be there when-

As they entered the Cathedral, they saw that this world's Yuno was already there. She looked at them innocently.

"Where's Yukki?" she asked.

* * *

She'd done it! _Yukki's mine again! Mine Mine Mine!_ The insane Yuno giggled, she wanted to jump up and down and celebrate.

She put Yukki on the bed and looked at the back of his head. She'd hit him hard with the handle of her knife to knock him out. There was a small bruise, she kissed it and whispered into his ear. "Sorry about hitting you earlier." But she wasn't. How could she be when doing it had worked out so well?

Now she'd patiently wait for Yukki to wake up and they'd have a happy life together. She kissed him on the cheek and put the blanket over him. "Sweet dreams." With a contented smile she crawled in the blanket next to him and held on tightly to his body.

"I'm never letting you go again."

* * *

 **Man, I've wanted to write this chapter for so long, you guys have no idea. It's been in my head for weeks now.**

 **I really hope you guys liked it! Personally, I'm really happy with it.**

 **Tell me what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16: Resurrection

Chapter 16: Resurrection

Yuno saw Ninth and the Murmurs fly into the Cathedral. She knew that she probably shouldn't be here, Yukki had said that the two of them needed time apart. But she needed to know when it would be alright for her to come back. She hoped that he'd say tonight, she'd been so lonely without him yesterday.

"Where's Yukki?" she asked.

Their expressions were pained. What was going on? Had Yukki told them to keep her away? _No! He wouldn't do that! He wants me by his side . . . doesn't he?_ But, was she bothering him to the point where he didn't even want to talk to her anymore?

"Look," said Yuno, saddened because of her misunderstanding of their reactions. "If Yukki doesn't want to be with me right now, can you ask him when it will be alright for me to come back?"

Minene didn't have a lot of pity for this girl. Even if she seemed sweet and calm to Yukiteru, she was still dangerous. Although, that would be useful for capturing or killing the insane Yuno. "He was taken by the other you," answered Minene bluntly.

Yuno's mood shifted immediately. "What?!"

 _There it is_ noted Minene. The violent and disturbed side of Yuno.

"Where is she?!" She couldn't let this happen, Yukki was hers! _I'll kill her!_ Yuno didn't care whether the insane one had the soul of the first world's or not, she'd die for stealing him!

"Calm down!" ordered Minene sharply. "Even if we knew, you shouldn't just rush in and chase her down! We need to think of a plan."

Minene looked at the Murmurs "You two! Show her what happened, I'm leaving." _Sorry Yukiteru, but I have a family I need to get back to. Besides, you shouldn't be in too much danger._ "And you," she pointed at Yuno. "Don't do anything stupid, you're probably in the most danger from the other you right now."

Before leaving the Cathedral, Minene went up to the Murmurs. "Make sure Yuno is safe, Yukiteru won't forgive us if anything happens to her, and after she's aware of the situation, tell her to wait. Could the insane Yuno somehow stop Yukiteru from coming back if he wanted to?" she asked.

Both Murmurs thought for a bit and shook their heads. "He's a god, he could easily return to the Cathedral," said Murmur Three. "She couldn't stop him from doing so."

Minene nodded. "Good, I doubt the insane Yuno will do anything to hurt him, so he'll probably come back when he regains consciousness." She looked at Yuno, the girl was barely holding herself back. "Tell her she needs to be here for him when he comes back, that'll stop her from leaving."

"Are you sure? I mean, what do we do if she tries to go off on her own anyway?" asked Murmur Two.

"I don't know," answered Minene irritably. "I can't think of everything, figure it out." With that she left the Cathedral.

Minene looked at the clock, it had been twenty minutes since she'd left. Hopefully, her children were still fine, she went to their room and looked inside. Luckily, they were still asleep. She still had her right hand and used it to begin untying them from their cribs.

She thought about Yukiteru. _That idiot, he should have been more careful._ Even so, Minene felt guilty. How could the three of them have failed to capture the insane girl? Seriously, it was ridiculous.

 _I made stupid mistakes too_ she thought shamefully. _I rushed into the smoke and got stabbed, so what gives me the right to tell Gasai not to do anything risky?_

It wasn't Yukiteru's fault alone for getting caught, Minene was to blame too. _Damn it!_ It was so frustrating! She couldn't even do anything to fix the problem! Looking for the insane Yuno would be pointless, even if they somehow managed to find the right place in the Akashic Records, she could probably see anyone coming for her.

Minene sighed, why was she so upset about this? Sure, she'd messed up but what did she oweYukiteru? He was just a weak, stupid kid that had only survived thanks to his crazy girlfriend.

Minene shook her head. No, he had been like that before, and it had been annoying at the time. But his tragedy reminded her of her own, when she'd lost her parents. She guessed that was why she'd first decided to help him.

And it wasn't as if he'd been entirely useless during the survival game either, he'd saved Gasai several times as well. That girl had might have been killed by either the Fifth or the Fourth or raped by the Sixth's followers if it hadn't been for him. Minene put her hand up to her eyepatch. _He did this to me too._

Still, at the time he'd relied on Yuno far too often. _Maybe that was why he'd wanted to capture the insane Yuno without her._ He truly had matured since his time in the survival game, he actually thought his plans through, and Minene had some idea of how dedicated he was to Yuno.

"There, there, it's alright. Mommy's here," said Minene as her daughter Miyuki shifted in her sleep. "I'm almost done getting it off you." She removed the last piece of string from her daughter's arm.

She smiled. Even though it had been annoying, if Yukiteru hadn't been so stubborn and stupid, these kids probably wouldn't exist. She never would have been able to find this world's Nishijima and find happiness. After all, the only reason she'd come to this world was because she'd decided to help Yuki save this world's Yuno.

She was truly in debt to him for what he'd done, really all the former diary owners did. Minene knew how better off their lives were thanks to Yukiteru. In fact, if it hadn't been for him, their lives wouldn't just be worse, they'd probably be dead.

That was why Minene had chosen to help Yukiteru now, as thanks to how he'd helped her and everyone else in this world. She looked up. _Just get back already, and make sure you're willing to do whatever's necessary to deal with Yuno. Both of them._

* * *

"I'm so happy to see you, I've missed you," said the Yukki on the screen to the other Yuno.

"It's fine. It's fine. Yukki's just lying to convince her." repeated Yuno to herself over and over again, hoping it was true.

The conversation went on pretty much as Yuno expected. Yukki was asking her to come to the Cathedral. He was doing it all wrong! The insane Yuno wouldn't listen to anything he had to say unless it was about leaving Yuno for her. And of course she'd try to kill her, if Yukki hadn't forbidden her from doing it Yuno would have done the same to the insane one.

The insane Yuno had gone down on her knees in front of Yukki. He was telling her that he'd promised to be with this world's Yuno. _Hah! Take that! He loves me! Not you!_ No, wait. What was Yukki saying?

"Come to the Cathedral with me." Yukki was offering his hand to the insane Yuno. "I love you and I want you to be happy."

"What do you mean you love her?!" Yuno screamed furiously at the screen. How could Yukki love them both at the same time? _No, no, he's only lying. He's only lying._ But repeating it over and over again in her head didn't reassure her.

The insane Yuno looked up at Yukki, "Will you kiss me one last time?"

 _You bitch! No Yukki, don't do it!_

Yuno clenched her fists as she saw Yukki kiss the insane Yuno. _How dare you take advantage of his kindness!_ _I'm the only one who can kiss him!_

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Yuno!" Murmur Two had seen how furious she'd gotten at seeing what had happened.

"Shut up!" yelled Yuno. This shouldn't be happening! Why Yukki? Why would he do this? _Wasn't I the one you promised to be with?_ Her heart froze as she realized that the insane Yuno wrapped her arms around Yukki's neck and made a black knife appear in her right hand.

 _No, she wouldn't._ Was she going to try and kill Yukki? Make it so that no one else could have him? _Ninth and the Murmurs said Yukki's still alive_ Yuno reminded herself, but seeing Yukki so close to death was frightening. If he died, Yuno wouldn't have a purpose in life anymore.

Fortunately, instead of killing him, the insane Yuno just knocked Yukki unconscious with the handle. Yuno watched as the Murmurs and Minene tried to save him. But the insane Yuno was using Yukki to protect herself!

Yuno's fists shook in rage. She'd blamed Minene and the Murmurs for not saving Yukki, but the insane Yuno was ultimately the one responsible. It took all of Yuno's willpower to not chase after them blindly in the Akashic Records.

She waved the screen away after seeing that the insane Yuno had escaped with Yukki.

"We need to look for them," said Yuno. _I need to save Yukki before she does something to him!_

"You don't have to Yuno, it'll be fine," answered Murmur Three. "I doubt the other you will harm Yukki, and she won't be able to stop him from coming back. He's a god after all."

"You don't know that!" said Yuno. "We can't let him stay with the other Yuno for another second!"

"Look, I'd be happier if he was safe with us here too," answered Murmur Two. "But what can we do? Looking through the Akashic Records won't work, we don't know what part of it they're in. Besides, it's not like she has to stay there. She could easily see us coming and escape."

"So, you want me to sit here and do nothing?" Yuno couldn't accept that, she needed to save him.

"That's what Yuki would want too," replied Murmur Two. "You can still be killed, and the other you won't hesitate to try. He wouldn't want you to die for him."

"But . . . but . . ." Even so, she needed to do something! She wasn't afraid of the other Yuno. Besides, she had the Murmurs here to help.

"Just wait for him," advised Murmur Three. "He'll come back once he's awake."

Yukki would come back to her, Yuno had to believe that. So she would wait faithfully until he did. "Fine," agreed Yuno. She decided to go to the section of the Cathedral that she and Yukki usually spent time in. The part he'd remade to look like his old house.

She entered their bedroom. It was almost the same as the one in his old house. There were only a few differences. There weren't any dartboards on the wall like there had been before, and he'd gotten rid of any pictures that he'd had of himself or his family.

There was just one picture there. It was just an image of her smiling happily. _When did he take this?,_ wondered Yuno. _And why is this my first time seeing it?_ She'd been here only a few days ago, where had Yukki kept it? Seeing it made her happy, he kept a picture of her by his side!

She sat down on the bed. It was a bit larger than his old one, since the two of them usually slept together. Although Yuno realized that it really didn't need to be, since they slept while holding each other closely.

At least, that was the way it had been. Recently Yukki had been distant with her, and she still didn't understand why. What was wrong with her being dependent on him? What was wrong with wanting to be by his side?

Was he just saying that because he didn't want her with him? She fiercely denied it. _Why would I even think that? Yukki loves me._ Still, it was hard to believe that when she'd just seen Yukki kiss the other Yuno.

Yuno was so scared. She pulled her knees up to her chest. Yukki was probably safe, the other Yuno already had a chance to kill him, she wouldn't do it now. The real reason she was scared was because she might lose Yukki's love.

The possibility that the other Yuno was actually the first world's Yuno was frightening. _How can I compare myself to her? If it really is her, then even though Yukki promised, he might leave me for her._ It had been so much simpler before, when she was the only Yuno and Yukki could consider her the same as the first world's since she was all that was left of her.

But the other Yuno was insane. Although Yuno knew that wouldn't stop Yukki from loving her. _It's not like I'm mentally stable either._ Besides, she had a feeling that pity played a big role in Yukki's love for her. He was too kind, she'd been broken and hopeless, she needed his help finding happiness and he was willing to give it.

The thought that his pity for her played such a big role in his love for her bothered Yuno. But if that was why Yukki loved her, she'd take whatever she could get. _Besides, he doesn't doubt my love so I shouldn't doubt his!_

But, wasn't that what she was doing right now? Yuno shook her head, she couldn't get the thought of Yukki falling in love with the other Yuno out of her head. If pity had played such an important part in getting him to fall in love with her, how much more would he pity the insane Yuno that was by his side _right now!_

Yuno fumed silently. The insane Yuno had no right to be with him when he'd even told Yuno that they needed time apart. She'd used dirty tricks to steal him! _At least I respect Yukki's wishes!_ But Yuno didn't know if she'd still be able to if he decided to stay with the other Yuno.

She got up from the bed, she'd go insane if she kept thinking about this. So she started to do anything she could to get her mind off of it. Nothing too repetitive, something that required her concentration. Yuno looked around, the house wasn't really dirty but she decided to clean it anyway. Besides, it would be a nice surprise for Yukki when he came back.

She started immediately, making the bed neat. Then making sure everything in the bedroom was organized and clean. Then, she continued with the rest of the house. The kitchen, hallways, and rooms that they didn't even really use, she made sure they were all spotless. It took a couple of hours to do it all.

Since Yuno didn't have school tomorrow, her parents let her stay out late, so she wouldn't have to go back and give them any excuses.

She was a bit hungry, so she went down to the kitchen and started cooking. After a few minutes, she realized that she'd begun making two portions. She usually did when she was here because she often ate with Yukki. Well, she'd already started cooking it, she'd save the rest for him when he came back.

When he came back. Yuno glanced at a clock, 17:58, Yukki had tried to capture the other Yuno almost four hours ago. Why wasn't he back yet?

Yuno put it out of her mind and finished preparing the food. She set a place for herself at the table. She began eating, but after a several bites she stopped. The food tasted different. Why though? She was sure that she'd made it the same way she always did.

 _Why did I make hamburger patties for dinner anyway?_ Yuno wondered. Because . . . because it was Yukki's favorite. She started crying, without even realizing it she'd been hoping that he'd return by now. That had been the real reason she'd made food for him as well.

She wiped away her tears. _That's enough._ She was sick of these mood swings. One minute she'd be perfectly fine, and the next she was in tears. Yukki had that effect on her, even when he wasn't with her. Maybe he'd been right about her being less dependent on him.

She finished eating, which didn't take long as she didn't have much of an appetite, and went upstairs after putting all the dishes away. She decided to do homework, she had everything in her bag, maybe that would kill some time until Yukki returned.

She sat down at the desk in their bedroom and began taking things out of her bag. "Oops," Yuno dropped a pencil and it landed underneath a drawer. She bent down to get it and noticed that the drawer had a strange compartment sticking out on the bottom. "That's weird." What was it?

She removed the bottom drawer box and looked in. There was a small, black book in the compartment. She picked it up and looked at the first page, recognizing Yukki's handwriting.

 _ **September 2**_ _ **nd**_

 _ **I can't believe it. Yuno killed Wakaba-san. Why? Is she still insane? I thought we'd fixed everything.**_

That was a bad day in Yuno's memory, when Yukki had thought she'd killed Wakaba, Yuno had thought that her future with him had ended. What was this book anyway? Was Yukki keeping a diary?

 _ **September 4**_ _ **th**_

 _ **I asked the Murmurs and I think I have a way to help Yuno. It's risky, but I have to do this.**_

Ah, that had been when she and Yukki had first opened their minds to each other. It had been wonderful, when they'd done it they had truly understood one another. All her doubts and fears had disappeared when she and Yukki done that. _I wish we could do it again._ Yuno continued reading.

 _ **Murmur One has a Yuno inside her! I don't know whether it's actually her or not. What do I do if it is?**_

 _ **When this world's Yuno saw her, she got that look in her eyes. I think she would have stabbed the Yuno personality if it hadn't been in Murmur One's body.**_

 _I really would have_ realized Yuno. She didn't want anyone to try to take Yukki from her, and not only that, because of the insane Yuno, Yukki had lost his trust in her. She'd been furious. _Do I really have a "look" in my eyes when I think like that?_ she wondered.

 _ **September 9**_ _ **th**_

 _ **Yuno's been really helpful in looking for Murmur One. Still, I can't help being a bit afraid of her. The Yuno personality is truly insane and this Yuno, I'm not sure what I can do anymore. She's murderous and violent too.**_

 _Afraid of me? Yukki shouldn't be afraid of me._ So that was why he'd avoided her that week. _Does he think that I'm that much like the other me?_ Yuno was so ashamed of how she'd been before, the obsessed, violent person who'd hardly ever listened to what Yukki had wanted when it came to their survival.

What was this diary anyway? It seemed like it only talked about the times when she'd acted like her old self, why would Yukki want to record those moments?

 _I shouldn't be reading this_ thought Yuno. _It's Yukki's private diary, if he doesn't want to share it with me, then I have to respect his wishes._ But she couldn't stop reading, she needed to know what he really thought of her. Whether she was just a broken person that he thought he was doomed to try and heal.

 _ **September 11**_ _ **th**_

 _ **Yuno and I spent the morning together, which was nice, we hadn't done that for a while. She seemed really happy, especially when I decided to walk her to school today.**_

 _ **But when I told Yuno about going to school in a town far away from here, she seemed a bit upset. Does she see me making new friends as a threat to our love?**_

Yuno couldn't help feeling that way, that anybody else who grew close to Yukki would take her place in his heart. If he stayed with other people during the day, how could she know whether he wouldn't start liking one of them? Although, Yuno was surprised, she'd thought that she'd managed to hide that from him. _Yukki knows me too well,_ she realized. Or maybe he just paid that much attention to her. The thought gave her a bit of comfort.

Still, she kept on reading. Up until the most recent entry, which had been written last night, probably soon after she'd visited him late at night. When he'd told her to go home.

 _ **September 14**_ _ **th**_

 _ **Yuno needs to learn how to listen. Even after having Akise tell her that she and I need some space, she came to me anyway.**_

 _ **Yes, I love her and want her by my side. But I don't want her to depend on me so much! I had to tell her to leave the Cathedral.**_

 _ **It was hard, making her sad like that. I should have at least kissed her back.**_ _**Still, this is for the best. She can't cling to me like that. But what's going on? It's only recently that she's become this desperate for my company. Or maybe I just haven't noticed it.**_

 _ **Is she acting this way because of the other Yuno? What can I do to make Yuno believe that I won't leave her for her other self?**_

 _ **Well, once I capture the insane one, Yuno won't need to worry about her. She and I can finally stop trying to deal with her and just talk. She deserves something special after all this.**_

Oh no! She'd driven Yukki to try to find the insane Yuno! "It's all my fault," she said to herself, the guilt was unbearable. _Yukki just wanted to show me that he loved me instead of the other me. Why couldn't I just believe him when he'd said it?_ It was all her fault! If she'd just trusted him, this wouldn't have happened.

Yuno did believe it now. She had Yukki's innermost thoughts about her in her hands. They'd revealed his true feelings for her, and once he woke up, she _knew_ he'd come back to her.

Until then, she'd wait patiently.

* * *

Murmur Two and Three were in the throne room, doing world maintenance, making sure causality didn't malfunction. Although, Murmur Two was distracted.

"Hey, Three," she called over her to her companion. "You don't think . . . could the insane Yuno personality have found a way to keep Yuki with her against his will?"

"Huh? No, of course not," replied Murmur Three. "He's a god, there's nothing to worry about."

"Still . . ." Murmur Two wasn't completely convinced. "It's been a while since she took him. Shouldn't he be awake by now?"

"It's only been what, five hours?" She thought about it for a bit. "It probably depends on how hard she hit him." Murmur Three gestured with a swing of her arm.

"Yeah, I guess." Murmur Two still felt uneasy. Something felt wrong, but she kept silent and continued working.

They finished half an hour later. "Well, I guess we're done," said Murmur Three. She flew off and waved to Murmur Two. "See ya, I'll be reading some manga if you need me."

"Alright," said Murmur Two. She decided to check in on Yuno and make sure she wasn't doing anything dangerous. She pulled up a screen.

Yuno was in her and Yukki's bedroom, looking at her own screens. Were those . . . yes, Yuno was looking at sections of the Akashic Records. _What is she thinking?_ wondered Murmur Two. _Does she actually think that she can find Yukki that way? The Akashic Records are too big!_ Although, Murmur Two supposed it was better than Yuno flying through the Records on her own.

Murmur Two sighed. She understood the appeal of looking through the Akashic Records. Even though it seemed hopeless, at least Yuno was doing something. Murmur Two was worried about Yuki as well.

Maybe she'd help Yuno in her search. Murmur Two didn't feel like doing anything else anyway. Besides, Yuki was her friend, she should help look for him.

* * *

Yuki woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he heard a girl's voice. "Yukki!" _Yuno?_ She hugged him tightly. He looked around, where was he? Was this his bedroom? He winced as his head hurt for some reason.

The insane Yuno pulled away from him. "What . . . what's the last thing you remember?" she asked nervously.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus. Why was it so hard? "Um . . . " Suddenly it came to him! He opened his eyes. "When I escaped from the dream world and held you in my arms."

 _It worked!_ Yuno realized giddily. _It worked! It worked!_ It was time to put on the act. "Oh Yukki." She held him desperately. It was so hard to act remorseful and dismayed when she finally had him awake in her arms after so long, but she managed it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry that I killed you." She cried, but they were tears of joy. Everything would work now! Yukki would love only her!

"You . . . killed me?" Yukki remembered telling her to do so. "But I thought it was impossible to bring dead people to life."

"I found a way Yukki, I never stopped looking," said the insane Yuno. "I need you, there's no place for me without you Yukki. I should have been the one who died."

"Hey, don't say that Yuno," Yukki held her close to him. "It's good that you killed me, and you brought me back to life, everything's fine now."

"Oh, Yukki." She nuzzled her head into his shoulder. "Does that mean you still love me? After everything I did?"

"Well, I did die for you," replied Yukki. "What do you think?" he asked cheerfully.

"And you only love me, right?" The insane Yuno held him even more strongly, it was starting to become a bit painful for him. "Only me?"

"Yes Yuno, only you," he answered.

She breathed a sigh of relief and kissed Yukki passionately. He'd finally said it! He only loved her! This was her Yukki, the one who didn't know anything about the fake Yuno. The one who wasn't fooled. She'd never let him go!

Yuki was very disoriented. Had Yuno really killed him and brought him back to life? How? If it was possible to do so, why had everyone else lied to him? Hinata, Mao, Akise, what had Deus told them? Could . . . could Yuno bring them back? And his parents! Could she bring his parents back too?

He was about to pull away but Yuno didn't seem to want to let him. When he finally managed to he'd only managed to get a few words out. "Wait Yuno-

Her mood shifted immediately. "Why Yukki?!" she asked angrily. "Don't you want to kiss me? Don't you love me?!" She got louder with each question.

"I do! I do!" he answered. He recognized the look in her eyes, he didn't know what would happen if he said the wrong thing.

"Then kiss me!" The insane Yuno forced her lips back onto his. Why couldn't he just let her enjoy this?

"Ow!" Yukki pushed her off and held his lip. "You bit me!"

"Oh no! I'm so sorry Yukki!" The insane Yuno saw blood running down his cheek. "Here, let me fix it!" She quickly healed his lip. "I'm so sorry Yukki. It's been so long and I needed you and when you pushed me I just- I just-I'm sorry! Please don't hate me!" she begged. He couldn't hate her, he couldn't! Not when she finally had a chance!

"I . . . I don't hate you," Yuki said to her softly. "I hadn't realized, has it been a long time for you?"

The insane Yuno nodded.

Yuki kissed her on the cheek, hoping that would stop her from, from doing anything like that again. While he did so, he wondered, had she lost her mind during his absence?

 **Author's Note:**

 **This chapter was incredibly difficult to write. I have no idea why, ideas just didn't come to me for a long time. Although, the last portion was always meant to be put in.**

 **Guys, I'm going to take a break for a couple of weeks from writing. There are two main reasons for that. Firstly, I'm going to be really busy so I won't have as much time to write. Secondly, my outline for this story needs some serious work. I've said so before but the way I've been writing this is that I have certain places I want to get to, but I have pretty much no idea how to get there. Until now, I've put in a lot of improvisation in writing each chapter and it's mostly worked. But doing that doesn't' work anymore, so I'm going to get a lot more serious with this.**

 **Anyway, leave a Review, give me your thoughts on this chapter or the story as a whole. Follow and Favorite if you like it.**


	17. Chapter 17: Memories

**Sorry, a bit of a shorter chapter after that break.**

Chapter 17: Memories

 _Yuki lied down on the ground and looked up at the stars. It really was a beautiful summer night, the sky was completely clear and the air was cool and comfortable. He'd been looking at the stars through a telescope for the past few hours, but now he just wanted to take it all in. Yuno was lying next to him, he searched for her hand and held it. "I love you," he whispered._

 _"I love you too Yukki," she answered. Even though it was night, the stars were bright enough for Yuki to see the smile on her face. He was so glad that he could make her happy like this._

 _Yuki looked back up at the sky. When he'd first thought about going to see the stars with Yuno, he'd gotten a bit depressed. He wished so badly that he could have done this with his parents as well. But now that he was here with Yuno, there was no way he could feel sad._

 _"Hey Yukki," Yuno pointed over to a group of stars. "Don't you think those stars look kind of like Murmur?"_

 _He looked up and saw it. "I guess so." Yeah, he could see it. The stars made up a short stick figure, and he could almost see Murmur's long hair. He pointed over to the right. "And that could be Deus right beside her."_

 _"Yeah Yukki," answered Yuno excitedly. "Oh, and what about that one? Don't you think it could be a dog?"_

 _It turned out to be a fun game. They kept looking and made up their own constellations. Animals, people, or random objects, they made a huge variety of them. Although at times what one of them found was a stretch of the imagination. Such as when Yuki had found one that he thought looked kind of like a future diary._

 _"We should find a place to stay for the night, Yukki." Yuno said. "We've been here for a while." She quickly checked her phone, "It's already past midnight."_

 _Yuki walked into a building with Yuno. It was a hotel; they'd decided to stay here after finishing their stargazing. He was carrying a bag with their stuff packed into it. After checking in, the woman behind the desk gave them a room key and teased them about what they were going to do in a room with only one bed._

 _After entering the room, they cleaned themselves and awkwardly stood in front of the bed for a few moments. Then, Yuki made a move. He got in the bed, but Yuno stayed back and told him to turn around. When she told him to look back she was in sexy pink lingerie, and she shyly asked him if he liked it._

" _You look beautiful, Yuno," he told her. After that she practically ripped his clothes off of him while he laughed eagerly. She left his underwear on so he took that off himself._

 _She blushed when he did, claiming that she hadn't gotten a good look at it before. He went up to her and kissed her. They slowly leaned back until he was lying on his back on the bed with Yuno on his chest._

 _They ended their kiss, both of them breathing heavily. Then-_

Yuki woke up and blushed intensely. _What kind of dream was that?!_ He'd had erotic dreams a few times before, but none of them had been as vivid as this one. In fact, this dream had been the most lifelike one he'd ever had. He'd dreamt about buying the telescope with Yuno, going on the train ride to the park, and the time he'd stargazed with her in incredible detail. In fact, he'd almost dreamt about making love to her again, his face turned even redder at the thought.

 _Well, I guess it's not really my fault for having a dirty dream like that. Yuno held onto me the whole night, I couldn't help it._ He looked down at the pink-haired girl beside him. She looked so calm and innocent when she was asleep. Even though her grip on his body hadn't loosened much since she'd frantically apologized to him for biting him during their kiss last night. He'd been afraid to push her away again, considering how upset she'd gotten when he'd tried to do so. It had been best to try to comfort her rather than provoke her again, so he'd forgiven her.

He loved her. Even if it was indecent, his dream had reminded him of that again. Going on without him must have been very hard on her, but he was glad that he'd managed to convince her to stay in the second world rather than killing her third world self to meet the next Yuki. _So what if she's insane? Should I have expected anything different?_ He'd known that he was the one who'd kept her stable, and he'd abandoned her. But he'd had to, the choice between dying for her and killing her had been an easy one, one that he'd made without hesitation.

 _How long has it been?_ he wondered. She'd only nodded last night when he'd asked whether it had been a long time for her. She looked like she was around the same age as when he'd died, but did that mean anything? After all, she was a god now. He put his hand up to his lip, if her god powers could heal it in an instant, they could probably keep her young.

If it had been really long for her, he couldn't blame her for being a bit . . . passionate, and her reaction had shown him that she really was sorry for doing it. Besides, she _had_ healed him immediately. It wasn't too big of a deal.

The insane Yuno yawned and looked up at Yukki. Even now, she could hardly believe it. She'd managed to get him back! _He's mine, now and forever!_ Her excitement was so overwhelming that she felt like laughing in triumph. No one would take him from her ever again!

Seeing Yukki's smile made her happier, it showed that even after she'd accidentally bitten him he still wanted to be with her. "Good morning Yukki, did you sleep well?" she asked eagerly.

Yuki blushed, thinking about his dream again. "Yeah," he replied. A bit hesitantly, he spoke up again. "Um, Yuno . . . are you okay?"

"I'm great Yukki! I'm with you again!" answered the insane Yuno happily. This whole time the insane Yuno had been hugging him tightly. But now she squeezed him even harder.

Even with her cheerful tone, she held onto him like a lifeline. _Yuno . . . what happened to you?_ Yuki had hoped that she would have found another reason to live besides him, but it seemed like his death had only deepened her obsession for him. He slowly pulled himself free from her grip.

The insane Yuno looked up at him desperately. "Yukki . . . please . . . don't make me let go of you again."

He stopped. "It's okay Yuno." He started stroking her hair, he didn't know why, but he thought that it would make her feel better. "I just want to talk to you."

It worked. He was sure that he imagined it, but for a second she'd almost purred like a cat.

"What do you want to talk about Yukki?" asked the insane Yuno, enjoying the attention he was giving her. She looked him in the eyes happily.

"What happened?" he asked, trying to conceal his need for answers. "After you kill- after I died, what did you do? How did I come back to life?" He looked around, this room looked a lot like his bedroom, but there was nothing outside the window. Just darkness. "Where are we?"

"I . . . I don't want to talk about it," answered the insane Yuno shamefully. She didn't want to have lie to Yukki.

"Why not?" he asked. "Look, it's fine, you can tell me anything."

The insane Yuno faltered at Yukki's kind, loving expression. "It . . . it was a really painful two years." The two years she'd spent in Murmur One's body, unable to find a way back to Yukki. Her rage at having Murmur One and everyone else doubt the fact that she was the _real_ Yuno! Forced to watch another Yuno come in and steal him away!

Yuki realized that she was getting angry, but he had no idea why. "Wait! Wait!" He yelled urgently before she lost her composure. "It's fine Yuno. I trust you, you don't need to tell me yet if you don't want to."

"Thank you Yukki," replied the insane Yuno, relieved. She'd almost lost control again. She started tearing up, afraid of what would have happened if she'd done so. Yukki wouldn't love her anymore if she acted like that. "I'm so glad," she said. "I thought . . . after what happened last night. I thought that I might have scared you and that you might not love me anymore."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about that," he said reassuringly. "I'll always love you. Sure, you were a bit . . . scary, but that doesn't change anything! I realized that last night."

 _Oh thank goodness! He'll always love me!_ The thought improved her mood immensely. "How did you realize that Yukki?" she asked curiously. "Last night . . . I don't think you would have slept in the same bed as me if I hadn't made you."

"It was a dream I had," answered Yuki.

"Really, what happened in it?" asked the insane Yuno.

"Oh, well, you and I went stargazing together," he answered. "In the beginning, you and I went to buy a telescope pawn shop. Then, a few hours later in my dream. Hey, I even dreamt what time it was, isn't that weird?" he noted.

The insane Yuno just nodded and waited for him to continue.

He looked into the distance and did so. "So, you and I were on a train and we were going off to this park. On the ride we talked and fed each other chocolate covered strawberries." The thought, even if it was only a dream, made Yuki happy. "Anyway, when we arrived after a couple of hours, the sun was setting and we went to the top of a hill and set up the telescope. We spent hours just looking at the stars together and talking."

Yuki realized something strange about the dream. "The thing is, the dream was so realistic. I remember it so well too, every detail, it's almost like-

"Almost like what Yukki?" interrupted the insane Yuno coldly. She realized what was happening, his dream hadn't been just a dream. He was starting to remember everything again.

He saw that she was starting to lose control again. Had he done something? _What though? Why would just telling her about that dream bother her?_ "What's wrong Yuno?" asked Yuki. "Did I say something?"

"No! It's not your fault Yukki!" she quickly answered. _This is bad. This is bad. If he starts to remember, then he'll leave me and and and . . ._ The fear of him leaving her again paralyzed her. Why couldn't it just work out?! After she'd been so careful to erase his memories. _Why?! Why?! Why?! Why does this have to happen even though Yukki is finally mine again!_

She didn't dare to completely erase his memories, if she did so, then she could damage his mind. Why did it have to be ten thousand years of memories? _If it had been a few years, this wouldn't be happening! Damn it!_

"Just don't think about it again Yukki," begged the insane Yuno. "Please, forget about it."

"I-I can't Yuno," he answered. "It's thanks to that dream that I realized that I shouldn't be afraid of you, that I love you. Why do you want me to forget it? Shouldn't that make you happy?"

"Just don't talk about it!" yelled the insane Yuno. "Don't dream about her! You should only love me! Me!"

"What are you talking about?" This made no sense at all to Yuki. "Who are you talking about? I dreamt about you, not some other girl! And I do love you!"

That was right, she had to remember, he did love her. Now that she'd made him forget, he loved her again. He didn't know about the fake Yuno. Yeah, that was right, the fake Yuno didn't matter anymore. _If Yukki's dream makes him love me more, then fine!_ _I'll take all the love that the fake Yuno had tricked him into giving her and make it mine!_

"Yeah, yeah, that's right Yukki," encouraged the insane Yuno.

Yuki's heart froze. The expression she was giving him was disturbing. It was times like this when it was difficult to love her. Those blank eyes and her smile, usually he adored her when he could make her smile but he didn't feel that way now. This was bad, she'd been dangerous enough during the survival game. Now, she was crazier than ever and had god powers, he had to be very careful.

Still, he couldn't help but feel that it was his fault she'd lost her mind. Even if it had been necessary to save her life, Yuki wished that he'd figured something out besides telling her to kill him.

So even if she scared him at times, he'd treat her with all the love that he could and hope that he could help her become sane again. He leaned forward and kissed her, keeping his lips on hers as long as she wanted and felt her tension disappear. _I love you Yuno._

* * *

Another tunnel full of machinery, identical to the rest. Yuno sighed disappointedly before even looking carefully at the screen. This was so frustrating, finding a section of the Akashic Records and slowly searching through it in the hope that she'd find Yukki. She had no idea how long she'd been doing this for but her eyes hurt, and she felt stiff. She hadn't even slept last night, she'd just used her god powers to deal with it, and only taken short breaks. But even so, she had to keep looking. Yukki, she needed him. She _needed_ him.

Why wasn't he back yet? He must be awake by now! Damn it, where were the Murmurs! Yuno flew off and found them in the throne room.

"You two," said Yuno angrily. "You told me that there was no way that she could stop Yukki from coming back."

"Y-yes, we did," answered Murmur Three nervously.

"Well, where is he then?!" Yuno wasn't even trying to stay calm, instead she willed her rage to become stronger. At least it was better than the hopelessness she felt over this situation. "She's found a way to stop him, she must have! And we can't even save Yukki because we don't know where they are!"

Murmur Two's guilt was bad enough without Yuno blaming her for this. "Yes," she answered. "It seems so."

"It's all your fault for lying to me!" Yuno was so furious that the Murmurs distanced themselves from her for safety.

"Fine! We were wrong!" Murmur Two yelled back. "But that's honestly what we thought! Do you think we want him to be in the hands of that lunatic?" Although Murmur Two couldn't help but think that he wouldn't really be much better off in the hands of _this_ one.

"Shut up!" Yuno couldn't believe this. "You stopped me from looking for him! If I'd just gone after him, we might have found him!"

"That was for your own safety!" answered Murmur Two. Yuno was starting to irritate her, how dare she accuse her of being the reason for this. _I care about Yuki too, I don't like the fact that he's been kidnapped any more than you do!_ Honestly, this girl was annoying, the only reason Murmur Two wanted to keep her safe was for Yuki.

"Also, you don't know how big the Records are. I doubt you would have found him anyway," added Murmur Three. This situation didn't bother her as much as it did the other two. Yuki was just her master, and she had another one right here. So the world would be alright. Besides, as far as she could tell, Yuki had just switched from one crazy girl to a slightly crazier girl.

Yuno just simmered silently in fury and left the throne room, she wouldn't look through the stupid screens anymore, she'd actually go and _find_ Yukki.

"Hey, hey! Where are you going?" Murmur Two flew in front of her.

"Get out of my way," said Yuno in a frighteningly calm voice. "I'm going to the Records." She moved to fly past Murmur Two.

Murmur Two got in her way again. "Wait! Have you forgotten? If the other you finds you while you're out there, she could kill you!"

"Not if I kill her first," replied Yuno, as if were the most obvious thing in the world. Yes, that's what she deserved for trying to take Yukki.

"It's not that simple!" argued Murmur Two. "Look, even if you were experienced enough with your god powers to beat her, killing her won't solve the problem! If we kill her, we won't know where Yukki is."

"Fine then, I'll capture her and make her tell me where he is. And then kill her." Hold on a second, hadn't Yukki said something about wanting to help her? Well . . . he had, but there was no way he'd forgive the insane Yuno now! She'd just kidnapped him, when he returned Yuno was certain he'd be fine with whatever happened to the insane Yuno.

"Weren't you listening?" asked Murmur Two. "I just told you that you can't use your god powers effectively on your own yet. The other you probably has Murmur One's memories, a divine servant who's always had these powers."

"I don't care! I'm going!" Yuno pushed Mumur Two out of the way and flew off into the Akashic Records. She couldn't bear it if Yukki spent another second with the insane Yuno personality or whatever she was.

She started searching immediately, looking through every dark corner and tunnel. Already, this was a lot better than just looking through the screens, Yuno felt like she was actually _doing_ something. It didn't matter if it was hopeless, Yuno would search for Yukki forever if that was what it took. _And the other me can do her best to stop me if she can,_ thought Yuno, almost as if daring her other self. Yuno would deal with her when the time came.

Yuno realized that Murmur Two had come along with her. Good, the two of them could search more quickly than she could by herself. As they searched they didn't speak to each other but made sure that they could keep an eye on each other. In case the insane Yuno tried to sneak up on them and deal with them one by one.

"Why isn't Murmur Three here to help?" asked Yuno after a while.

"At least one of us should be at the Cathedral to handle things," answered Murmur Two. "And she didn't want to volunteer to come babysit you."

The comment irritated Yuno. "It's not like I need you to. _I_ can take care of the other me by myself." Yuno made a black knife appear in her hand to prove her point.

"Sure you could," said Murmur Two sarcastically. "But I think I should stay close by, just in case."

Yuno continued flying through the tunnel in silence.

"Besides, I don't like just doing sitting around while Yuki's in trouble either," murmured Murmur Two to herself.

Damn it, since Yuki was gone, Murmur Two needed become more friendly with Yuno. They needed to work together. And . . . if the worst came to pass, Yuno might become the only god of this world. So Murmur Two would need to become her servant as well.

When Murmur Two caught up to Yuno, she decided to speak from her heart. To reveal honest feelings that she hadn't experienced before her time with Yuki. True friendship with another person, caring for them. They were far more meaningful than her previous existence of manipulating humans for fun. In fact, she had a feeling Murmur One felt something similar for Yuno. They were more than just masters as Deus had been, but people they'd actually mourn if they died.

If they died, with the insane Yuno on the loose, that possibility was far too likely. "Yuno . . ." began Murmur Two. "Thank you."

Yuno stopped for a moment before starting to fly again. "For what?" she asked, perplexed.

"For helping Yuki. Before, do you have any idea of how much he was suffering in the second world?"

". . . No," answered Yuno. Yukki had hidden that from her when they'd shown each other their memories.

"He couldn't find the motivation to do anything before you came," recalled Murmur Two. "He let the second world rot and didn't try to make another one, no matter how much I harassed him. Because to him, a world without you was meaningless. So instead, he drifted in emptiness. Until you came and gave his life meaning and hope again. That was the happiest I ever saw him."

"I love him," said Yuno. "And I want to be by his side, that was why I did it. If . . . if he really was suffering so badly, then I'm even more happy that I found him again." Although, Yuno's feelings were much more mixed. She was elated that Yukki had cared so much for her, but she also felt guilty that she hadn't reached him sooner to ease his pain.

And there was the question that she'd asked herself many times these past few weeks. Was she really the girl that Yukki had fallen in love with? Before, when they'd first shared each other's experiences, she'd felt like she could never doubt his love again. That it was obvious that he loved her, whether or not she was actually the first world's Yuno. And even if she wasn't, did that really matter? She was the only Yuno left.

At least that was what she'd believed at the time. Now this other one had come along. And nobody knew whether it was the first one, the one Yukki had made these memories with. The thought was frightening. That, at this moment, she was showing him that he really loved _her_ instead of the third world's Yuno, who'd just received her memories.

But even if that was true, Yuno loved Yukki. He was the only reason why her life had turned out so well, instead of following the same path as her previous selves. Killing her own parents and clinging to Yukki for sanity. Making him worry about her and deal with her insanity. Playing that horrible survival game with him.

Actually, Yuno would have been spared from that. Her first world self would have killed her before she could have met Yukki.

She needed to know, was the Yuno in Murmur One the one from the first world or just a set of memories that had taken control of her? So Yuno asked Murmur Two, even if she didn't actually expect her to know.

"I don't know," answered Murmur Two after a while. "But . . . Yuno, you really care for Yuki, don't you?"

"Of course!" replied Yuno passionately.

"Then, I don't really think it matters whether the other Yuno is really her or not," Murmur Two told Yuno. "I can tell that you actually do care for him. Not like the other Yuno, whatever she is, who's selfish and insane." _Although your mental state isn't exactly stable_ thought Murmur Two."So I'll help you find him, because he loves you and you care for him. When we find Murmur One, we'll either get the first world Yuno's soul out of her or erase whatever memories are causing this. And . . . I'll try to help with whatever relationship problems you two have as well." _Hmm, who knew, maybe I could actually use all the romantic manga I've read to help them out._

"Thank you." Yuno was strangely touched by Murmur Two's support. It usually seemed like everything was against her love for Yukki. Other people had believed that she was insane and that her feelings weren't real: Yukki's friends, other Diary holders, even herself at times, but it was most painful when Yukki did. Still, she really was trying hard not to be too much like her old self. Like when she tried to respect Yukki's wish for space. It really meant a lot to Yuno that someone was encouraging her, recognizing her efforts. In fact, really the only other person to do so had been Murmur One.

"Why though?" questioned Yuno. "Why would you want to help me like that?"

"Look, I'm not helping _you_ specifically, I'm helping Yuki. He's my friend, and you're the one he loves. Now let's go look for him." Murmur Two flew off. Yuno followed along, glad that she had an ally to help secure Yukki's love.

 **Author's Note:**

 **First of all, I'm really sorry but chapters are going to be released less frequently now. Right now I'm working on another fanfic that I think deserves just as much attention as this one. So my time will be split between them, which will result in me taking (roughly) twice as long to write a new chapter for this.**

 **Anyway, please leave reviews. As usual I'm really thankful for your thoughts, and see you next time!**


	18. Chapter 18: Memories Part II

**First of all, sorry for the long wait. If you want an explanation for why this chapter was so late, it'll be at the end.**

 **Also, apparently some of you guys want me to write from the perspective of other characters, so here you go.**

Chapter 18: Memories Part II

"I'm home!" Nishijima Masumi announced as he walked through the door, and saw his wife cradling their daughter in her arms.

Minene brought a finger to her lips. ""Shhh. Be quiet," she whispered. "I just got her to fall asleep."

Masumi lowered his voice. "Sorry. What about Kasuko?"

"He's still in his room, playing with that toy you got him." Minene sighed. "Couldn't you have gotten him something else? He's always pressing the buttons on it, and it makes such annoying sounds."

"At least it keeps him on the ground, right?" reasoned Masumi. It was true, ever since he'd bought a new toy for his son's first birthday a few weeks ago, Kasuko hadn't tried to float up off the ground once. It always had his full attention, he'd clap and laugh after the press of a button made a sound for an animal. Then he'd press another button for another animal and somehow be amused enough to repeat the cycle for an hour or so.

"By the way, were there any 'incidents' today?" wondered Masumi.

Minene shook her head. "Nope," she declared proudly. "Not even one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm really getting good at making sure these kids stay on the ground," she answered. It had been over a week since she'd started tying her kids down whenever they were out of reach to make sure they didn't fly up and hurt themselves. The first few days, she and Masumi had started calling the times when one of their children floated higher than a foot above the ground an "incident".

There hadn't been an incident in the past three days. Minene wasn't taking any chances with her babies getting hurt. In fact, at this moment Kasuko's leg was attached to a set of weights. Also, she'd only untied Miyuki half an hour ago to feed her.

"Well, if you're getting so good at it. Maybe we could try for another," suggested Manami.

"Hell no! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to take care of two flying babies?" Minene ranted. What was wrong with him? She sighed as she remembered, right, he was baby-crazy.

"Alright, alright." Masumi relented. "We'll talk about it later. I'm starving, and the smell coming from the kitchen is amazing."

"Fine, we'll talk later, but don't think I'm going to change my mind." Minene went to put Miyuki in her crib and secured her to it. Minene would feel safer if she had Miyuki in her sight, but it would be fine to leave her in her crib for a nap, at least for a little while.

She then removed the string connecting her son to a weight. Minene smiled when Kasuko tried to reach over to his toy and continue playing with it as she picked him up.

"You can play with it later," she said. "It's dinnertime."

Minene put him down in his high chair at the table. Masumi arrived a few moments later and they started eating.

It didn't take long for Masumi to bring up his favorite subject.

"So," he started. "About having another kid-

"How was your day?" interrupted Minene.

"F-fine." Masumi could tell that she wasn't in the mood to talk about more children, but he wouldn't give up that easily. "Don't you think that three is just such a good number?"

"How. Was. Your. Day." She carefully articulated each word with an underlying threat.

"Come on honey. You said so yourself that there haven't been any more incidents with the kids," he reasoned. "Don't you think another one would be great? I promise that this will be the last one."

"That's what you said about Miyuki!" complained Minene. Couldn't he take a hint? "Forget it, I am _not_ dealing with three flying kids."

"But what if we ask Amano-kun or Gasai-san to make our children normal?" asked Masumi.

"We still have no idea where Yukiteru is, and I doubt that Yuno is in the mood to help us with something like this. She's still busy searching for him."

"So you guys still haven't had any luck finding him or Murmur One?" he asked.

"Nope." It had been four days since Yuki had disappeared, and it seemed like Yuno was spending most of her time in the Akashic Records. At least, whenever Minene went to the Cathedral, that was where she was.

Minene had helped search a few times, but she couldn't help feeling that it was pointless. The Records were too big, Minene could easily imagine someone spending a lifetime searching through it.

It was so frustrating! But what else could they do? They didn't have any clues to Yuki's or the insane Yuno's specific location. Their only hope at this point was that she might leave the Akashic Records; the Murmurs had changed things so that they and Yuno would feel it if she did.

Although it was unlikely that the insane Yuno would leave anytime soon, neither she nor Yuki needed food or water. They had nothing to bait her into leaving either, that had been Yuki's role. He and the insane Yuno could stay in there for months or years. And who knew what in the world she would do to Yukiteru during that time? What was going on with him anyway? Was the insane Yuno really satisfied with a drugged, tied-up Yuki? Yuno had said that she doubted it, but Minene couldn't think of any other reason why he hadn't just used his god powers and returned.

"Hey Minene?" said Masumi.

Minene stopped her wondering. "Hmm, what is it?"

"Nothing, you just look like you were deep in thought," he said. "What were you thinking about?"

"Just . . . this mess with those two," she answered.

"Ah, I see."

After a few moments of silence, Minene spoke up again. "Maybe . . . after we find Yukiteru, we could have another child," she said with a blush.

"Really?" he asked expectantly.

"Don't look so happy about it!" She scolded him. "It's not like I like going around with a heavy weight in my belly for months, or raising another kid. It would be difficult enough without having to worry about them suddenly flying around."

"So no more talking about another kid until Yukiteru's found and the other Yuno is dealt with," said Minene firmly, really putting her foot down. She was annoyed by his hints, or outright requests, for more children.

Well . . . it didn't _really_ bother her. It was kind of cute, how he so eagerly wanted to add to their happy family. He was full of love, and he wanted to share it, she really was lucky to find him.

They continued their meal while talking about other topics, such as the topic Minene had used to get him off the previous subject: how their day had been.

Masumi told Minene about how the police had ended their investigation of the kidnapping of this world's Yukiteru and the murder of Wakaba Moe. Before this world's Yukiteru had shown up, most of those involved in the case had believed that he'd killed her and ran away. Now, they weren't sure what to think.

Obviously, someone had kidnapped Yukiteru, and it was probably the same person who'd murdered Wakaba Moe. Why though? What could possibly have been their motive? Kill a teenage boy's girlfriend and kidnap him only to release him two weeks later? Not only that, why didn't he remember anything?

It really would be confusing to those who didn't know about the "unique" relationship that Gasai Yuno and Amano Yukiteru had. The thought of the police working so hard for an answer that they would never have made Minene and Masumi laugh a bit.

"So if you're not working on that case anymore, what are you investigating now?" asked Minene.

"Well, I'm still trying to apprehend this world's you," he explained. "Since that was what I was working on before."

"Have you made any progress yet?"

"A bit, there have been a few sightings of her in a nearby city, but I'm not sure how reliable they are."

"You probably shouldn't trust them," advised Minene. "I doubt that she'd be sloppy enough to let someone see her."

Masumi nodded. "You're probably right, but we're going to check it out anyway. We don't have a lot of leads, and it doesn't hurt to be careful."

Minene smirked. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

They soon finished their meal, and cleared the table together. Kasuko's face had gotten a bit messy, he wasn't very skilled yet at bringing food to his mouth on his own yet. After wiping him clean, he'd started to get sleepy and Minene put him in his crib next to his sister's. Tying him to his crib as well, just to be safe.

When Minene went to the living room, Masumi was on the couch. She smiled and sat down next to him, they watched some show on TV. It wasn't really that entertaining, but it was nice to lean into her husband and just laugh at the characters and their antics.

As she watched, Minene started thinking about her third world self. She was still a terrorist in this world, which was unsurprising. If the survival game hadn't happened, that was probably what she would have done.

Actually, it was what she _had_ done. In this world at least.

The targets that her third world self chose hadn't changed either. Mostly places of worship and religious officials. Still lashing out with her anger at God, whatever God there happened to be. Minene guessed that her third-world self still hated God, for giving her a life full of tragedy and hardship.

Although she knew that Yukiteru would be a good god, he actually cared about people. Unlike Deus, he would make the world a much better place. Once they found him.

Minene shuddered as she thought of how utterly different her life was from her third world self's. Still raging at an unknown God, thinking that she could do everything on her own. She was living without any hope that the world could become better. She lived without the love of the wonderful man Minene had found in the previous world and again in this world. It really was sad.

"Hey," she said to Masumi. "Once you catch this world's me, could you find a way for me to talk to her before she goes to prison?"

"What? Why would you want to do that?"

"There are some things that I need to tell her."

"Like what?"

"It's just . . ." Minene shifted uneasily. "She needs to know that she doesn't need to try to do everything by herself. That it's okay to ask for help, and she doesn't need to hate God anymore or let her hatred control her.

"And . . ." Minene blushed in embarrassment. "That there are people who are worth loving, and who'll love her back. Wonderful people, like you."

"Do you think she'll listen?"

"I don't know," she said uncertainly. "But I have to at least try to give her a chance at happiness instead of letting her continue living like this."

Masumi smiled. "Minene, even though you try to hide it behind a tough exterior, you're really kind-hearted, huh? You're so adorable!"

"D-don't make fun of me!" Minene blushed even harder.

"I'm not. I'm not." Masumi reassured her. He paused as he realized something. "Don't you think she'll freak out if she sees another version of herself come up to her?"

"Oh, right. I'd have to make sure she doesn't recognize me, but . . . I don't think she'd listen to something a random stranger says to her."

"How about you try showing her that you know a lot about her? You know, things that only she and you would know," suggested Masumi. "It would make her reconsider the idea that you're some random stranger, and maybe she'll take your advice more seriously if she realizes how familiar you are with her life."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea," said Minene. "You think my eyepatch and missing right hand will be enough to fool her?"

When she had made the decision to stay in the third world, Minene had realized that it was better to keep the eyepatch and missing hand instead of healing herself. They were unique characteristics that stopped most people from realizing that she was identical to her third world self. It was actually pretty surprising how a lack of an eye and a hand were enough to fool everyone else, even this world's Kurusu had only said that she looked vaguely familiar when she'd first met him.

"Maybe it'll be enough, if it's dark," said Masumi after a while. "Even though it's enough for other people, I think you should be more careful with your other self."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

* * *

"You've been having bad dreams?" asked Makamo Yora, the criminal psychologist. Even though he was in his office right now, he wasn't giving this session to Amano Yukiteru for his job, since the police had ended the investigation. This was out of curiosity, and maybe sympathy.

The third world's Amano Yukiteru nodded in his seat across from Yora. "Yeah."

"And what happens in these dreams of yours?"

"Well . . . it's usually the same dream every time," said Yukiteru. "I-I'm tied up in a chair, and I'm wearing hardly anything, just my shirt and underwear. The thing is, I don't think there's anything wrong with finding myself like that. I know that's how it always is in a dream, people accept whatever weird thing happens, but this is _different._ It's like I can't even think clearly, like . . ."

 _'Like he's drugged?'_ wondered Yora. _'Is it possible that he's starting to recover some memories of his kidnapping?'_

Should he report this? No . . . it was possible that these dreams were a result of something else. After all, Yukiteru knew that he'd been kidnapped and he could be unconsciously filling the gap in his memories with his imagination. Even so, Yora continued to listen just in case Yukiteru was actually remembering something.

Yukiteru continued telling Yora about his dream. "Anyway, I just sit there for what feels like hours. Just sitting there and feeling nothing at all, like my emotions are . . . buried deep inside me, or . . . drowned out somehow."

"And then what happens?"

"I-I wake up."

"Hmm." Yora considered it for a while. "You said that's what your bad dreams have usually been like. What happened when it was different?"

"It was only different last night," answered Yukiteru. "I was still in the chair, tied up again. But I'm fully clothed this time, and I'm angry and scared, and I'm begging somebody to . . . to let me go."

This got Yora's complete attention, could it be the kidnapper? "Who is it?"

Yuki struggled to remember. "I-I don't know. I don't remember what she looks like."

"She?"

"Huh?"

Yora impatiently explained. "You said 'she'. Was it a woman?"

"I said 'she'?" Yukiteru seemed confused. "I-I guess it was a woman then."

"I see." Well, it seemed like these really were just dreams, not memories. At least in Yora's opinion, in his experience whenever amnesia victims started to recall their memories they reported them as extremely vivid and detailed. Although it was strange that the figure in Yukiteru's dream was so vague.

"Was there anything else that happened in this dream?" asked Yora.

"N-no, at least, I don't remember anything," replied Yukiteru.

"Yukiteru, what do you think these dreams mean?"

"I don't know! That's why I came to you for help Makamo-san!"

"Really?" asked Yora skeptically. "Has it never occurred to you that these dreams could be showing you some of your missing memories?"

"Yeah, I thought about that," answered Yukiteru. "But what the hell! Why am I remembering them now, as dreams?"

"Minds are very complex, Yukiteru," said Yora. "I've spent my whole life studying them, but the more I learn, the less I feel like I know."

"What could be happening," guessed Yora. "Is that you've somehow regained a portion of your lost memories. Which would normally make me think that you may have repressed them. Although, because I've never heard of memory loss particularly like yours, I think that someone has used some technique or drug on you. Rather than repression."

"Anyway, whatever it was, it seems extremely effective," continued the psychologist. "I doubt that it could leave any residual memories behind if it made you unaware of the fact that two weeks of your life had passed. But since I don't know how it works, I can't rule out the possibility that maybe it didn't work as well as it seemed to. Have you started to consciously remember anything?"

Yukiteru shook his head.

Yora spoke about the other possibility. "Then these dreams might not be a direct result of your lost memories. I see how frightening it is to you how those weeks in your life just disappeared without a trace, like that." He snapped his fingers.

"So these nightmares could just be your unconscious mind filling in the gaps with guesses as to what happened. You know that you were kidnapped, and it's not unreasonable to think that you were tied up in a chair. I think the near-nakedness that you describe yourself could just be a sign of your feeling of vulnerability. This vague figure that you mentioned also supports this idea of your mind attempting to fill in the gaps, you weren't sure what she looked like, and seemed unaware that you had said it was a woman."

"O-okay then." After thinking about it Yukiteru agreed. "I guess that makes sense. How do I stop having these dreams?"

"I think it's best that you try to accept the fact that you were gone for two weeks," advised Yora. "Once you stop fearing it and wondering about what happened, these dreams shouldn't bother you anymore."

"Alright, thanks Makamo-san." Yukiteru looked at the clock. "I think it's time for me to leave."

As Yukiteru was leaving the room, Yora reminded him. "Yukiteru, if these dreams of yours get more detailed, or if there's anything else you need to talk to me about, just give me a call."

"Sure, thanks Makamo-san."

Yora sat down at his desk and wondered what on Earth he was doing. It was something he usually did: analyzing his own motives and behavior to try and better understand his own mind.

Why was he giving this teenager free consultations? It wasn't like the police were really worried about this anymore, so it wasn't like he needed to keep interviewing him.

Well, he was curious. About what though? The boy wasn't that interesting. He had some issues as a result of the kidnapping (who wouldn't?), and Yora did consider himself to be the type of person who helped others, but that didn't explain the excitement he had felt when Yukiteru had mentioned the kidnapper.

' _It's obvious,'_ thought Yora after a few moments. Minds really were complex things, hiding truths from itself to avoid shame or pain. The most compelling reason Yora had for doing this was because he was fascinated by the kidnapper. Assuming it actually was a woman, what had went on in her mind to make her kill a girl and kidnap Yukiteru, only to return him later with his memories erased?

The reason he was doing this was a selfish and rather strange one. Yora could see why he'd been unconsciously avoiding that conclusion, but the truth was always best. And he'd learned something about himself.

But maybe that was enough introspection for now.

* * *

 _Yuki had done it! He'd managed to escape from the sphere! Yuno was right here, and good, she still hadn't killed her third-world self yet. He wrapped his arms around her._

 _"Yukki." She sounded confused and shocked._

 _"Yuno."_

 _"Why?" she asked._

 _"I'm here to save you," he said._

 _"I don't believe it . . . you chose me over a world of happy dreams."_

 _Of course he had, in fact, he should have done so sooner. Luckily, there was still time. "Yuno, kill me." Yuki heard Yuno's parents behind him. "You get it now, don't you? You don't belong here."_

 _She agreed, and he heard her open her diary. It would all be fine now, Yuno knew that she couldn't take the place of her third world self anymore. She would live, and hopefully she'd be able to find happiness. He would die for her, it was what he deserved anyway, after all the people he'd killed._

 _'You're so stupid, Yukki," she said as she brought her hand up with the knife._

 _She brought it down._

 _No! What was she doing? She was supposed to stab him, not herself! She had to live! "Why?"_

 _"I'll stay here," she replied calmly._

 _"Why?" he repeated himself._

 _"I told you." Yuno collapsed. "I won't stab you, that's my future."_

 _Yuki didn't even know what to say. Why? Why couldn't she have just killed him?_

 _"Hey, kiss me, Yukki."_

 _He nodded, and helped her reach up. If . . . if these were going to be her last moments, he'd make them as painless as he could. He brought his lips to hers, and felt the tears go down his face._

 _"You've gotten even better at kissing, Yukki."_

 _God, for as long as he'd known her, Yuki realized that he'd never seen her this happy before. She was beautiful, he realized. If only . . . if only he'd fallen in love with her sooner he'd have been able to make her happier, and maybe make this death a little less cruel._

 _He could feel it, she was weakening. Her heartbeat and breath were disappearing, she was dying. "Yuno!" Why? Why couldn't she have decided to live instead?_

 _He heard one of the Murmurs say something off to the side. He had won the survival game, but it didn't matter. Yuno was dead, and he couldn't bring her back to life._

 _Yuki felt himself floating up, Murmur was bringing him back to the second world! No, wait! He couldn't abandon Yuno! 'Just let me hold her a bit longer!'_

 _He was in the second world now, he was its god. What was the point though? Yuno was dead, and this world had no meaning without her._

The second world's Yuki woke up in a cold sweat. What in the hell was that dream? He'd been dreaming that . . . that Yuno had died instead of him!

"What's wrong Yuki?" The insane Yuno looked at him worriedly. They'd just been sleeping peacefully together until he'd woken up.

"N-nothing, just a bad dream," he answered, completely shaken by the experience.

A dream. The insane Yuno realized what that could mean. "Really?"

"Y-yeah."

"Yukki . . ."

"Let's just go back to sleep." He lay back down and went under the covers.

"Are you okay?" The insane Yuno reached over with her hand. "Let me just-

"I'm fine!" said Yuki. "You don't need to do anything!"

"O-okay." The insane Yuno pulled her hand back. Yukki was starting to remember again, what could she do to stop it?

Why? Why couldn't it just work out?!

"I love you," she said to him meekly.

"I love you too," answered Yuki. He felt her relax and get closer to him.

That dream . . . there was no way it could just be a dream. But-but it had to be! There was no way Yuno had died instead of him. She was still alive, and she had god powers so he must have been the one who'd died. But the dream, he couldn't ignore the dream.

And why wouldn't Yuno tell him anything? These past few days she hadn't answered his questions about what had happened after he'd died, how she'd brought him back to life, or where they were. A few times, he'd had to stop his questioning out of fear of what she might do, since she wasn't mentally stable.

The way she'd look at him sometimes, she was scared of something, but what? That he might learn the truth? What was the truth?

Damn it, why did she still insist on hiding answers from him? Didn't she know that he loved her? Didn't she know that he hated not being able to trust her?

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay, here's the explanation for why this chapter took so long.**

 **First, I started writing another fanfiction for a different anime. Which takes up about half the attention to writing that I used to give solely to this one. Until either that one or this one is finished, waits for new chapters for both will be longer than they used to be. But I've already mentioned that in a previous chapter, so that's not really a good excuse.**

 **Which brings me to my second reason, recently, I've been losing motivation to continue writing this. I'm spending a lot less time writing than I did at the very beginning of this fanfiction, and when that time is split between two stories that just worsens the problem. So someone recommended to me that I write a scene that I want to see in my fanfiction, which I did and spent about a week on. It's going to be a while before it comes up, so don't worry, if I ever** _ **really**_ **start feeling like giving up on this fanfiction, I'll look at the scene I wrote and** _ **force**_ **myself to reach that point. Then when I reach it, hopefully I'll feel like writing again. Otherwise, I'll have to spend some time writing the ending I have in mind for this fanfiction, then have that be my goal.**

 **The third reason is kind of some of your guys' fault. I've started reading some old chapters and the ones who mentioned it were right, it** _ **does**_ **get wearisome reading from the perspective of Yuki or Yuno all the time. So this chapter had a minimum of either of them, which is difficult for me because the relationship between Yuki and Yuno is the reason why I started this fanfiction. But I tried my best to put them aside for a bit, and this is the result.**

 **Anyway, the long explanation is over. As always, please review. Next chapter will be out two (at least I hope so, it'll probably be more like three) weeks from now.**


	19. Chapter 19: Confrontation

**So . . . sorry, I'm a bit late on my deadline. I'd meant for this chapter to come out several days ago.**

Chapter 19: Confrontation

How long has it been? Days? Weeks? Honestly, there was no way for Yuno to tell. Ever since . . . ever since Yukki had been taken by her other self, she'd spent her time in the dark, gray tunnels that went through the Akashic Records. Time didn't feel like it existed going through this place, it was all the dull sameness repeated over and over again.

It was so monotonous, this ridiculously enormous divine structure was starting to drive her insane. Yuno hadn't slept ever since she'd begun her search, after all, that was precious time she could be searching for Yukki. She didn't feel tired either, her god powers had made sure of that. Although, she was worried about the condition her mind was in, just an hour ago, when she'd been flying through the tunnels, she'd felt a sense of déjà vu.

She felt like she'd been there before, flying through the exact same tunnel. She doubted herself, hadn't she seen that exact same pattern in the wall before? And that smooth area on her right seemed familiar. But she was certain that she hadn't been to that part of the Records before, although admittedly it was hard to tell, since every part of it looked so similar.

It was so frustrating! Although, Yuno would have preferred that to the thoughts that occupied her mind now. _What if . . . what if I've somehow returned to the same spot?_ she thought had disturbed her so much that she'd stopped her search momentarily.

What was the point in trying to find Yukki if this was going to happen? If she was going to be stupid enough to somehow circle back to the places she'd already checked?!

 _I'm never going to find Yukki like this!_

The thought, which she had avoided for so long, came to her so suddenly and painfully that it felt like someone had hit her. Sweating and pale, Yuno sat on the floor and bent her knees up so they reached her chin. If she could have seen herself, she would have been ashamed at how pathetic she looked. But at the moment, that didn't matter.

She started crying, softly at first, for a few moments she wasn't even aware that she was shedding tears. Then she felt the wetness on her cheeks, and she couldn't hold it back any longer. She sobbed loudly and her body started shaking.

 _It's hopeless,_ Yuno began to think. For the past few days, she'd been going through the tunnels without rest. Using whatever she could to motivate her, her love for Yukki, rage and hatred at the other Yuno, desperation to find him, anything she could muster. This was the first time she'd started to feel despair; she'd been doing her best to avoid feeling this way. But now, sitting on the cold, hard floor and seeing the ends of the tunnel so far away that they were obscured by darkness, she couldn't ignore the truth any longer. There was practically no chance of finding Yukki this way, but what could she do?

There was no other way to find him, and she couldn't stop her search. He was her reason for living, it was impossible for her to just abandon him. They had only just begun their future together, it was supposed to last forever! Not only a few months!

Her nightmares had come true, it had been so long since she'd had them. The ones where she was alone, and Yukki was nowhere to be found. She always found herself somewhere different in those nightmares, in her house, Yukki's house, her school. Yet no matter how different they were in location, Yuno always did the same thing in each of them. She would look for him desperately, flying all over the place, attacking people who wouldn't tell her where he was, but she never managed to find him before waking up and remembering with relief that Yukki was with her.

That had always supported Yuno whenever she'd had those types of dreams, or started thinking that maybe Yukki would leave her. For these past few months, he'd always been there to comfort her.

That wasn't true anymore, Yukki was gone. Yuno couldn't even summon any rage at that thought now, just loneliness.

"Hey, Yuno. Just stop it already."

Yuno turned around, Murmur Two was behind her. _What's she doing here?_ Yuno briefly wondered before facing away from her.

"No," answered Yuno. "I'm fine, I can still keep searching." She started flying off.

"You've been in here for days." said Murmur Two, following along. "You probably haven't slept either. You have god powers now, so it's not affecting you as badly as it would if you didn't have them, but there's no way you're alright."

"Shut up," rebutted Yuno harshly. "I have to find him."

Murmur Two grit her teeth in annoyance. "Look, I'm just trying to help you. I promised you that I would, didn't I? Just rest for a bit," she suggested.

"I . . ." Yuno was a lot more hesitant now. What Murmur Two had said was true, she was tired from restlessly searching.

"I can't abandon Yukki," she said finally.

"You wouldn't be abandoning him," said Murmur Two. "If it makes you feel better, I can search."

"Really?"

"Of course! Remember, I want to find him too, and it's not like we have any other options to try."

Yuno thought for a bit. It would be nice to relax for a bit, but it just felt so wrong, stopping her search would be like giving up on getting Yukki back. Although, Murmur Two's reassurance was a huge comfort.

"Maybe you're right," Yuno decided. "I'll take a break." She flew back to the Cathedral, she wanted to be there rather than her house. _I'll be like a wife waiting for her husband to come back._ The idea gave her some comfort, although it felt wrong to make light of the situation.

Yuno returned to the Cathedral and . . . was that . . .?

She could feel someone else's presence!

 _It's not Yukki,_ she realized. Her brief surge of hope faded. It wasn't her other self either, it was just Akise Aru. Whatever, Murmur Three could talk to him. It wasn't like he could help anyway.

Yuno went to the bedroom. This was much more preferable to her own room, she had so many happy memories here. In fact, since it looked so much like Yukki's actual bedroom in his old house, it reminded her of the memories she'd made with him in the previous worlds.

True, the reminder was painful, but Yuno still sought it out. Since it seemed like the memories might be all she would have of him.

She collapsed onto the bed, she hadn't realized how tired she'd felt until she felt the soft mattress. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

* * *

"Hey Observer," Murmur Three greeted Akise Aru distractedly as she was looking at a screen. "Anything to report?"

"Not really," he answered. His usual confident smile was gone, replaced by a look of concern. "Has there been any success with the search?"

"Nope."

"How? Hasn't Yuno been searching for days?!" Akise really started losing his cool. This wasn't like him, he was supposed to be able to think of solutions calmly and rationally!

"Hey, calm down," Murmur Three said, slightly annoyed by his outburst. She shook her head. "You still don't understand the size of the Akashic Records, a few days wouldn't even be close to enough time to find someone hiding in them."

Akise breathed in and out slowly, although he was still upset. "Then what methods do you have for finding each other while in the Cathedral or the Records?"

"Well, we servants can contact each other easily, through these screens. If Deus needed me, he'd just order me to come to him and give me an idea of where he was."

Akise started thinking. "You never sent your location to him?"

"No, what kind of servant summons their master?"

"But what if he just wanted to know?"

Murmur Three considered the question. "Then . . . I guess he could? I don't really know, Deus would usually just look for me with a screen."

"Well, even if it might not work, why don't we try to get Yuno to look for Murmur One's presence?"

"That won't work. The insane Yuno cut off pretty much all connections Murmur One had to Yuki or Yuno," explained Murmur Three.

"I see . . ." Akise started wondering about Deus' method of summoning servants. In his case, he had been ordered to go to the Cathedral whenever he was summoned. Although, since the Murmurs had divine powers, and actually moved through the Cathedral and Records, it was certain that their relationship would be different.

"Have you or Murmur Two gotten any 'summons' from Yukiteru after he was kidnapped?"

". . . No," answered Murmur Three uneasily.

"Do you have any idea why?"

"The other Yuno has to be keeping him unconscious. Otherwise, it would be easy for us to find Yukiteru."

"And this didn't occur to you when you reassured us that there was no possibility of the other Yuno holding Yukiteru captive?"

Murmur Three became defensive. "It didn't, alright? Besides, it's Yuki's fault for getting himself kidnapped anyway."

Akise sighed. "Yes, he did make a nearly fatal mistake," he admitted. "By the way, I'm not blaming you for telling us that Yukiteru would come back on his own. You and Murmur Two both offered your honest opinions."

Murmur Three nodded. "Yes we did. Good thing you're more reasonable than Yuno."

He smiled. "I would guess so. Is she still searching?"

"No, she's resting. Right now, Murmur Two's searching the Records."

Akise hesitated for a few moments before asking another question. "Murmur Three, how long do you think it will take to find him?"

"Honestly . . . it could take years."

That was certainly encouraging. Akise sighed. "Okay then, goodbye."

He left the Cathedral.

* * *

"Hey Yukki, what do you want to do today?" asked the insane Yuno cheerfully.

"I don't know, is there anything you want to do?"

The insane Yuno's smile faded at Yukki's indifferent tone. She knew that he must be getting bored, he'd stayed in this part of the Records ever since she'd brought him here. She couldn't let him leave, if either of them did, they'd be found.

"How about we go play some video games?" she suggested. It was a good thing she'd managed to bring entertainment before she'd been forced to stay here.

"Alright."

He still didn't seem very interested.

They walked downstairs and the insane Yuno set up the gaming console. She noticed Yukki's troubled expression when he saw it, why?

 _It reminds him of his mother,_ she realized. How could she have forgotten? His mother had played video games often with Yuki. The insane Yuno had chosen this console because it was the one she'd remembered Yuki having, and thought that it would be good if everything was familiar to him.

 _I'm so stupid!_ she thought. "If you don't want to-

Realizing that she knew what he was thinking, Yuki instantly reassured her. "It's fine." he said with a false smile. "Let's just play."

As they played, the insane Yuno became more and more disheartened. Yukki didn't seem to be having fun at all. Even though he was playing earnestly to make her feel better, she could tell that it was just an act. His heart wasn't in it.

Damn it! What was wrong with her?! Why couldn't she make him happy?! Yukki was finally hers, but she still couldn't she do anything right. She paused the game and put the controller down.

"Y-Yukki, you want to be with me, right?" she asked timidly.

Seeing that expression from her stirred Yuki's sympathy. She just looked so fragile when she was uncertain about how he felt about her. It almost made him forget about her instability, and reminded him that she was the girl he loved.

"Of course Yuno." He set his controller to the side and hugged her. "I love you."

Even now, every time Yuki told her that it made her heart pound. "But . . . I can tell, you're not happy like this. Why?"

"Wh-what are you talking about? I'm not unhappy."

It was a lie. A lie to make her feel better. And not only that, he'd told it out of fear. She'd felt him tense up. He was afraid of how she'd react to his answer.

Yukki thought she was crazy.

Why? Why couldn't they just have a happy ending together? She wasn't crazy, she wasn't!

It was this damn world that was crazy! All she'd wanted was to be with Yukki forever, but the survival game in the first world had gotten in the way. And she hadn't been able to bring him back to life, so she'd done whatever she'd had to get Yukki back.

What she'd done in the second world hadn't been insane of her! She needed him! It had been a bit better there. When she'd gotten her memories of the first world back, she'd resigned herself to dying for him. In fact, she almost had.

What had happened next angered her the most. Forced to wait in Murmur One's body for two years, her hope of reuniting with Yukki the only thing keeping her going. Then, she'd been forced to watch as this world's Yuno took Yukki from her!

How could anyone blame her for trying to get Yukki back? At first she'd thought this world's Yukki would be the same, that he'd come to love her. Then she'd realized that she only wanted one Yukki, this one.

How dare they call her fake! She was the real one, the one who'd actually _lived_ these memories with him. She'd done all she could to be back with him again, and everyone still got in her way!

"H-hey, Yuno?"

The insane Yuno snapped out of her reverie. "What is it Yukki?"

"Can you let go of me now?" She'd been hugging him tightly for the past few minutes. The thought of pulling away from her or saying anything earlier hadn't lasted long because he'd gotten the sense that she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment.

"O-Oh, right." She let go of him. "Sorry," she added sadly.

"It's okay."

To cheer her up, Yuki moved his head forwards and brought his lips to hers. She jumped slightly from shock, but promptly began to respond eagerly. He realized that this was one of the few times he'd actually kissed her since she'd brought him back to life.

He eased into her body. _Yuno_. He was so glad to be back with her again. This time he'd do his best to help her, rather than use her or run from her as he had during the survival game. God . . . even now, he felt so guilty about that. He wanted to give her happiness, she deserved it after going through so much.

After a while, Yuki felt his stomach rumble. "Um, I'm a bit hungry," he said after ending their kiss. "Should we have lunch now?"

"Sure," replied the insane Yuno with a delighted smile. She wasn't hungry, she was easily able to take care of her hunger with her powers. But it would be a chance for her to do something for him.

When they entered the kitchen, she immediately took out the ingredients to make oyakodon: chicken, rice, eggs, various vegetables and sauces. Along with ingredients for side dishes. There was plenty of food in the refrigerator, the insane Yuno was able to make them with her powers, so there was no danger of running low.

Yuki went to her side. "Here, let me help." He didn't want to make Yuno do all the work. Also, the food would be ready faster if the both of them worked together.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw how she expertly used the knife to cut the chicken. He didn't feel comfortable with her with a weapon in her hand.

He put that thought out of his mind and focused on cooking the rice for the two of them.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them had finished cooking. They began setting the table.

While the insane Yuno was bringing the miso soup to the table, Yuki acted on a sudden impulse and began tickling her.

She almost dropped the bowls and started laughing uncontrollably. "Y-Yukki . . . stop it . . . I'm going to spill them!" She managed to get out between gasps.

"Wow, you're really ticklish," teased Yuki.

"S-stop it!" She somehow managed to set the bowls on the table without spilling anything. Trying to get his hands off of her.

"Nope."

It seemed like her sides were especially sensitive, so Yuki chose them as his main target. She looked so beautiful like this, laughing breathlessly. Not to mention it was also fun to tease her like this.

It was strange though, for some reason, Yuki felt like he remembered doing something like this before. Why would that be? He'd never done anything like this with Yuno before, or had he?

Yuki pulled back his hands. "Okay, I think that's enough."

"Jeez Yukki, you're so mean," said the insane Yuno with a pout.

"Sorry, but I couldn't help it. You just look so adorable like that."

She blushed deep red when she heard that. "Well, let's eat."

Although Yuki turned out to be the one who did most of the eating. As usual, she just stared at him obsessively rather than eat any of the food that she'd made.

It made him a bit uncomfortable, but the first time he'd told her to stop she'd started tearing up, saying that she only wanted to look at him after being without him for so long. Her staring didn't do any harm, but it made him worry about her.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" he asked.

"Oh, it's alright. I'm not hungry." Even so, the insane Yuno ate some soup to please him. All the while, keeping her eyes on him.

Yuki thought that if anyone could see them, they might have thought that the way she looked at him was cute and loving. It almost gave him the same impression, even now. Yet if he paid closer attention, he could see what her expression indicated about her mental state.

He tried to start up a normal conversation, but that was too difficult. The topics he wanted to talk about, where they were, how he'd been brought back to life, he was afraid of how she'd react. There wasn't much else to talk about, and even when he succeeded she still looked at him in the same unsettling way.

Eventually, he gave up and let her stare at him.

"Thanks Yuno," he said sincerely after finishing his food.

She smiled. "Your welcome."

She cleared the table, while Yuki went upstairs in his bedroom. He felt that he needed some alone time, even a few minutes would be plenty, she'd always been by his side these past few days. It was too stressful living with her, always being afraid that he might accidentally set her off.

He had to be careful with her during every waking moment. He couldn't make any excuses for more space between them, and he doubted that she'd stop suffocating him on her own. She'd never been as needy before, what had happened to her?

 _I left her, that's what happened._ Even if it had been necessary, it still made him feel guilty. _Yuno's barely recovered from it, of course she'd act this way,_ he reasoned. He couldn't imagine how deeply it would scar him if he'd had to watch her die in front of him.

Yuki sat down on the bed and relaxed. As he thought, it was only a few minutes before she entered the room to find him.

The insane Yuno went to his side and held onto his arm tightly. "Come with me Yukki, I have something to show you!" she said excitedly while pulling him along.

Yuki let himself be dragged. _What is she going to show me?_

They left the house, for once Yuki was able to get a good look at where he was. She'd been very reluctant with letting him leave on his own. Disappointingly, his surroundings didn't help answer any of his questions. They were in a large open space with gray walls, and there were several other buildings around, arranged so that they surrounded the house, but they were just as gray and nondescript as the walls. So he couldn't make any guesses as to what was inside them.

It seemed like they were heading towards the building straight in front of the house. It was larger than his house, and there were no windows, just a single door.

"Ta da!" she exclaimed after opening the door.

It was a gym. In the far corner, he could see that there was equipment for practically every sport. Basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, various rackets, and even ping-pong tables.

"So . . . this is what you wanted to show me?" asked Yuki hesitantly.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"It's important for your health to exercise Yukki," she explained. "Come on! What do you want to do first?"

"Um . . . ping pong, I guess," he replied, completely lacking any enthusiasm.

* * *

Yuki let out a huge breath and laid down on the bed. He was exhausted, but strangely satisfied. That had been the most fun he'd had ever since he'd been brought back to life.

Which was strange, he'd never been athletic. He had usually preferred to write in his diary than actually do anything during gym class. So any exercise that he did had usually left him breathless before long. And that had been the case before as well.

It was a lot more enjoyable this time though. _Thank you Yuno,_ he thought. She hadn't made fun of him for his lack of fitness, which other students had done before. Also, she was in better shape than he was, but she'd managed to avoid making him feel inferior. She'd given the impression that she was putting in all her effort so that he would feel better about his victories.

She really was a kind and thoughtful girlfriend. It was just hard to see that sometimes, but now he'd make sure that he'd never forget it.

It was hard to forget once he went downstairs and saw that she'd somehow prepared dinner for him already. She'd cooked a lot, the table was covered with many different dishes.

"I hope you're hungry Yukki," she said when he entered.

"Starving."

"Good," she added with a grin.

It seemed like she was hungry as well, this time she dug in eagerly as well, instead of just watching Yuki eat. Which made this meal a lot more comfortable than lunch had been.

He loved how happy she looked, how she'd worked so hard to make all this, how the excitement and pride showed in her voice. He loved her.

"Here, try this." She held up a piece of chicken in her chopsticks.

"Oh . . . um alright." He blushed and ate it.

"How is it?"

"Great! Just like everything else!"

While they had both been starving, the insane Yuno had simply prepared too much food for them to finish. When they'd eaten their fills, she put leftovers in the refrigerator. Yuki volunteered to do the dishes, saying that it wasn't fair for her to do all the work.

To end the day, the insane Yuno had chosen a movie to watch. It was a romantic film. When it started, she immediately leaned her head on Yukki's shoulder.

Yuki held her hand as she did so, unaware of the way he made her heart race with that simple act. As he watched the movie, he couldn't help comparing the love story of the couple in it to his and Yuno's. It was a bit cliché how the two characters met, them bumping in the hall, the girl dropping all of her books and the guy helping her pick them up.

Completely different from how Yuki had met Yuno, running away from a killer and then confronting him with her. As he watched the movie, he couldn't help but laugh a bit at how the normality of the characters' relationship differed so much from his and Yuno's.

Eventually, they reached the point where the guy went down on one knee and proposed. Which affected the insane Yuno very deeply, she hoped that Yukki would one day do the same for her.

They reached the end of the film, when the two got married and had the happy ending that all these types of stories had. Yuki yawned and glanced over at the clock, it was almost eleven pm.

"Let's go to bed." Yuki yawned again.

"Are you tired?"

"A bit."

"Well . . . there's something I want us to do before you go to sleep, can we do that first?" she looked at him hopefully.

There was no way he could say no to her when she was like that. "Sure."

"Yay! Um . . . just wait in the bedroom, okay?"

He agreed and went up to the bedroom. _What does Yuno want?_ he wondered. Maybe . . . maybe she would finally tell him the truth about everything. But if so, why would she make him wait? Did she need to get something to fully explain how she'd brought him back?

His thoughts were cut short by the door opening slightly, with the insane Yuno peeking in shyly.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Ready? For what? "Sure," he said uncertainly.

"Okay." She walked in, and nearly made Yuki's jaw hit the floor.

She was wearing a pink nightgown that revealed much of her chest, and barely covered her legs. It had white lace and floral patterns on the bottom. Her hair was completely undone. Combined with her eager expression, it gave her an incredibly exciting look.

"Y-Yuno, what are you . . ."

"Do you like it?"

Yuki managed to nod, he was speechless. She looked _incredible_ , he couldn't stop staring.

She began walking towards him, much of her shyness gone, only anticipation remaining. _He's going to be mine again!_ Once she did this, Yukki would belong to her. No matter what he had done with the fake Yuno. She kissed him passionately, unintentionally giggling in joy.

"Yukki, I want to . . . become one again."

"I . . . I . . ."

Yukki didn't know what to say. He could feel himself reacting to her body. He was sweating and hot. Not to mention the stirring in the lower part of his body.

She kissed him again. This time, she lightly touched his lips with her tongue, asking for an entrance. Which he gave almost immediately. They moaned in each other's arms, they'd both been holding back for the past few days. Yuki had been too afraid of her to start anything, which had discouraged the insane Yuno.

It was different now, the thought of her mental state didn't enter Yuki's mind at all. Right now, the only thing he could think of was her soft, sexy body clinging to him. Which the insane Yuno would happily take advantage of.

The insane Yuno pulled him over to the bed. "Lay down Yukki."

He did so, and promptly she began to undress him. First lifting his shirt over his head, and staring at his chest rise and fall. He ripped his eyes away from her for a moment and looked down at himself, what did she find so attractive about him? It wasn't like he had any muscles for her to stare at, he was just skinny. She seemed fascinated though, but not for long before she started pulling down his pants.

His hand moved, almost on its own, and stopped her. He stared down at it, surprised. What on earth was he doing?

The insane Yuno looked up at his face. "Yukki?"

"I . . ." What was going on? "I can't."

"What?" She gave him a confused look. What had she done wrong? It had been going so well.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry Yuno, I just . . . can't right now." What was this feeling? He loved Yuno and he wanted to do this, but it just felt . . . _wrong._ Like he was betraying her somehow.

"Why?" She felt tears in her eyes. "Don't you want to? Do you hate me?"

"No, no! I love you. I can't explain it but I can't do this right now." He hugged her. "Maybe . . . maybe some other time," he said doubtfully.

She wouldn't listen. "Please Yukki, just try. Please," she begged.

She was so pitiful right now, and he hated himself for making her cry. He felt so terrible that he almost agreed just to please her, but he didn't. "No."

She forced her lips onto his again, holding his arms down. _It'll work out! I just have to make him feel good and he'll agree, he'll have to!_

Yuki pushed her away. "No! I said no Yuno! Not right now!"

The insane Yuno stood still for a second, completely shocked. Then, she acted. Black arms materialized around Yuki, grabbing his arms and legs, forcing him down on the bed.

"Yuno! What are you doing?!" He struggled, but he didn't have the strength to fight them.

The insane Yuno climbed on top of him. "It's-it's okay!" she said frantically. "Just lay back and relax, I'll do all the work. We'll become one again, and you'll still love me, you'll forgive me right?!"

She started undoing his pants with her own two hands. "No! Stop it! Stop it! Yuno!" She ignored him and continued undressing him. He tried struggling more, but he couldn't free himself. Not only were the black arms holding him down, but her weight on his hips also kept him restrained. Still, he kept trying while yelling over and over at her to stop.

Suddenly, the arms disappeared. _She listened,_ thought Yuki with relief. That relief was short lived, as he angrily pushed her off of him.

"WHAT THE HELL! You crazy bitch!"

The insane Yuno stared at him in complete shock, his words stung. But more importantly she hadn't freed him, he'd used his god powers to get rid of the arms. Did he remember everything?

"You were about to rape me! I don't know what it was like for you without me, but you can't just do that! I died for you, can't you at least listen to me?!"

He didn't remember, he must have used his god powers subconsciously. "I-

"Get away from me! You're crazy and I never want to see you again!"

She stayed, he couldn't mean that, he couldn't! She made a mistake, he had to forgive her, he had to! She wasn't crazy! "I'm sorry," she said meekly. "Ple-

"Get out!" He yelled harshly.

The insane Yuno flinched at his tone. She ran out of the room crying, there was no hope for her now. Yukki hated her, and he thought she was crazy. She couldn't erase his memories again, if she tried he might use his god powers to defend himself. What was she going to do?

Yuki watched her leave in anger, but soon it burned away and left him feeling empty. God, what _had_ happened to her? Yuno had never been completely sane, but she would never have tried to rape him. Should he have ignored that strange feeling and had sex with her anyway?

Considering how she'd reacted to his refusal, it seemed like he should have chosen that option. Although he truly hadn't known how unbalanced she was, so the aftermath of having sex with her might have ended up badly for him as well. Although he doubted that it could have gone as badly as what had happened.

 _At least she let me go._ He had to give her credit for that, she'd stopped herself before going too far. He sighed, even after that, he still loved Yuno. He still wanted her back, contrary to what he'd said. Maybe he was a bit crazy too.

He sat down in the bed, he wasn't sleepy at all now. He pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes, just lying there for a few minutes.

 _Please come back,_ he wished. He didn't wish for the insane Yuno, although he still believed that she was the first world's Yuno. What he wished for was the girl he'd fallen in love with, the girl he'd gotten to know so well during the insanity of the survival game. She'd had her own problems as well, but Yuki had been completely willing to help her through them. He wanted that girl, not the girl he believed that she'd turned into.

 **Author's Note:**

 **To me, what makes Yuno so fascinating is her insane/obsessive side. She was the first yandere character I'd ever seen. Not only that, her tragic backstory also touched me and made me pity her.**

 **In fact, that pity is the main reason why I'm writing this fanfic, I want to give her a happy ending. I also want to portray a "realistic" (not the right term, since this is the world of Mirai Nikki, more like a reasonably accurate) relationship between her and the one who gives her so much happiness. Unfortunately, that person is Yukiteru. I dislike him as a character, I think pretty much everyone who's watched Mirai Nikki does. But throughout this fanfic I've been trying to change him into a person who I think is worthy of Yuno.**

 **Also, it seems like some of you want Yuki to end up with the insane Yuno. If you couldn't tell from this chapter (then you are an idiot, just kidding, but seriously), that is not going to happen. The insane Yuno has the traits that first piqued my interest in Yuno, but she has too much of them. A relationship between her and Yuki won't work. The only reasons why it hasn't collapsed sooner is because I've reverted Yuki a bit to his old self, so he's been too scared to set her off, and the fact she has him all to herself. There's no one to make her jealous, no one who might steal him away. (That he knows of)**

 **Sorry again for the long wait for this chapter, it just kept growing bigger and bigger. And I got stuck several times during the writing process, and other times I just felt lazy and didn't feel like writing. I'm ashamed to say that I considered giving up on my fanfic as so many others have. But even though I had to force myself to write at times, I really enjoyed writing the last scene in this chapter. And I was reminded of the fact that writing could be** _ **fun.**_ **So don't worry, this will go on.**

 **Anyway, good news for you guys. I might be able to get the next chapter up in less than a week! I have spring break, so no school will give me plenty of time to write. Also, I'm ignoring my other fanfic for a bit to focus on this one.**

 **Lastly, per usual, keep giving me those delicious reviews.**


	20. Chapter 20: Found

**Damn it, this chapter should have come out last week.**

Chapter 20: Found

The third world's Yuki turned over in his bed, then did so again. It was hopeless, he couldn't get comfortable no matter what he did. Eventually, he sighed and glanced at the clock by his bedside. In bright green digits, it said that it was just past midnight.

He couldn't sleep, he didn't even want to, no matter how tired he was. Because sleeping would mean dreaming, and he couldn't bear having another nightmare. Another confusing nightmare that he couldn't make any sense of, tied up in a chair and begging for release, it scared him to even think about it.

 _I can't stay like this,_ he decided. He couldn't just lie there in fear of a recurring nightmare. Frightening as it was, it was just a dream. It couldn't mean anything. Or even if it did, he was safe from what it represented. Whoever had kidnapped him couldn't hurt him.

Still . . . he needed to get his mind off of it. The third world's Yuki walked downstairs to the kitchen, taking small silent steps so he wouldn't wake his parents. He didn't want them to know what was bothering him. When he got to the kitchen, he drank some water. He looked at the calendar on the wall, it was September 19th. No, it was past midnight, so it was actually the 20th.

He stared at it for a bit longer. It was a lot easier to accept now, but it was still strange when he let himself think about the two missing weeks of his life. It hadn't been easy going back to school. Even now, after a week since he'd come back, he sometimes overheard other people still gossiping about him.

It really bothered him, hearing what they said when they thought he couldn't hear them. More than a few people believed that he'd been the one who'd killed Wakaba-san, and that he was faking his amnesia. Or the thought that he was some sort of psychopath and that it was just a matter of time before he killed someone else.

God, it made him angry! That was ridiculous, he'd never have killed Moe, he'd loved her! And he certainly wouldn't kill anyone else! Those idiots didn't know anything.

At least his friends and family knew the truth. That gave him some comfort, but Yuki was still glad that the weekend was beginning and that he wouldn't have to go to school in the morning.

He sat in the kitchen for a few minutes longer, unwilling to go back to his bedroom. Then, he started feeling restless and began pacing around the room. Yuki decided to go back up to his room after all, but instead of going to bed, he changed into some clothes.

He felt that he needed to go outside for a quick walk to ease his mind. Yuki silently descended the stairs and walked out of the house, making sure to lock the door. He looked at the window in his parents' room. Good, the lights were still off. They were still asleep.

The third world's Yuki already felt a bit better. It was a cool autumn night, and the sky was clear so he could easily see the stars. In the east, the moon was a waning crescent, its dark side was facing the Earth, almost completely concealing the bright side.

He walked around the neighborhood that he'd lived in for years. On his right was the house of the woman who used to baby-sit him when he was younger. Nearby were the houses of his friends, but he avoided them. They were probably still asleep but he didn't want to take any chance of running into them.

"Hmm?" He turned the corner, there was someone else in the street. Who would be out this late at night? He couldn't get a good look, considering how dark it was. But the other person seemed to be around his height.

It was a girl, close to his age. She was wearing nightclothes, a sleepwalker? Maybe, she was just standing there though. It was kind of weird.

"Hey," Yuki walked up to her. Now that he was closer, he saw that she had pink hair. He noted the strangeness of that before he realized that she was crying.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She turned around and saw him. Her tear-stained expression was full of such pain that it touched Yuki's heart.

She looked utterly relieved before saying a single word. "Yukki."

How did she know his name? Wait, that face . . .

 _Oh God._ Yuki turned around and ran away as quickly as he could. His phone! He had his phone in his pocket! He needed to call the police. She was the one who'd kidnapped him! Gasai Yuno! How could he have forgotten?!

He didn't dare turn around, and he didn't dare slow down either. As he ran, he started dialing the police. Then, he felt something cold enter his back and he fell.

 _Huh?_

"Why?!" She yelled at him.

How had she gotten behind him so quickly? He hadn't heard any footsteps behind him. Why was his back wet? He touched his back with his hand and looked at it. It was completely red, he was bleeding out.

He couldn't muster the strength to get up. She was still yelling something at him, but he couldn't hear her. He'd landed on his stomach, so he could only see her out of the corner of his eye.

She'd gotten angrier. He watched powerlessly as she came closer to him and started stabbing him again and again with a strange black knife. He didn't feel anything after the third stab, he died after the sixth.

Even so, the insane Yuno didn't stop. "Why won't you love me!" she yelled at the corpse. "I did everything I could! I did my best to find you after everything that had happened to me! But still you won't love me! Why?! Why?!"

The insane Yuno couldn't even differentiate between the different Yukkis anymore. The body in front of her was a Yukki, third-world or second-world, she just couldn't let one of them be taken from her!

Breathing heavily, she stood up and started walking away from the body.

She walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Suddenly, the insane Yuno stopped and looked around at the houses with a completely confused expression. _What am I doing here?_ she wondered. She looked down at herself, why was she covered in blood? Hadn't she and Yukki-

What had she been doing again? She knew that she'd been with Yukki, but she couldn't remember what exactly.

Well, it didn't matter. She'd just go back to him.

"I need to clean this off first!" she realized. She giggled, thinking of how silly of her it would be to walk up to him like this. It certainly would be hard to explain how she'd gotten so messy, considering how she didn't know herself.

 _Oh, I'm wearing something really nice!_ realized the insane Yuno. Once she got the blood out, she'd definitely get Yukki's attention with this outfit. Her nightgown was rather high up on her legs, and it revealed a lot of her chest. Which she knew he liked. How lucky!

Maybe she could convince him to do something naughty tonight!

* * *

Yuno stirred in her sleep, tossing and turning in the bed all by herself. Eventually, she opened her eyes.

She sat up, still exhausted. This was the first time she'd slept in days, rather than using her god powers to take care of her fatigue. She wanted to sleep.

Yuno shook her head violently. No. She couldn't go back to sleep yet, there was something else she needed to do, something more important. She didn't know how, but she could somehow _feel_ Yukki calling out to her.

Was she imagining it? No, she couldn't be. This despair, this desperation, it was too real. She knew they weren't her own feelings; she'd connected with Yukki's mind before, she could recognize him.

 _Where are you Yukki?_ Yuno couldn't tell if he received her message, or if he even could. She wasn't getting any specific thoughts from him, only vague emotions. But . . . she knew that he was calling out for her, he needed her!

There! He was giving her his location! The thought wasn't in terms of a part of the Akashic Records, it was just a path to him _._ Wherever he was.

Without hesitating, Yuno hurried to him. Using her god powers to reach him as quickly as possible, she disappeared from the bedroom.

And reappeared in . . . was this the same bedroom? Yuno looked around, it was! Had she gone nowhere? She looked in the bed in front of her.

She gasped. Yukki was there, in the bed, and he hadn't realized yet that she was here.

"Yukki," she said softly, as if she couldn't believe it. He was here, she'd found him!

Yukki got up, and turned around. At the sight of her, he immediately leapt back at the wall. Looking at her with fear and suspicion.

"Get away from me! I told you I never wanted to see you again!" he yelled.

Yuno was taken aback, how could he say that? "Yukki, it's me, not the other Yuno," she said, realizing that he might be mistaking her for her other self. She looked him over and was immensely relieved to see that he seemed unhurt. Thank goodness, she'd been so worried at what her insane self might have done to him.

"Other Yuno? What are you talking about?" He looked at her as if she was insane.

"Yukki? What's wrong with you? The other Yuno! She took over Murmur One's body and kidnapped you! Don't you remem-" Yuno stopped herself as she understood. So this is how her other self had kept Yukki here! She'd taken away his memories! How dare she! These last few happy few months, the happiest she'd ever been, and he didn't remember any of it!

"Quickly Yukki, come on." She grabbed his arm, they had to get away for now. He needed to get his memories back, and then they'd come back to deal with her other self.

"Let go of me!" He freed himself from her after they left the house and entered the large space. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Please," begged Yuno. "There's not much time, she could be back any second-

Yuno stopped at the sight of a hole in space. She stepped between Yukki and the hole, aware of who was probably going to emerge from it. He was right here, there was no way that she'd let him be taken again! She'd have to fight, but she'd been prepared for that. Also, there was no point in waiting to deal with her other self.

 _I'll take care of her here, and then Yukki and I won't have anything to worry about anymore,_ reasoned Yuno. She held a dark black knife in her hand, ready to face her.

The insane Yuno entered with a wide, happy smile. Which immediately gave way to an expression of shock and dismay at seeing Yuno in front of Yukki.

For a moment she just stared at them, trying to understand how this could have happened. But there was still hope, even though the fake Yuno had found him, Yukki was completely confused. There was still a chance for her to stop him from being stolen!

"Get away from him!" The insane Yuno leapt at Yuno. Suddenly carrying an identical knife. She swiped at her savagely, but Yuno dodged.

Yukki fell back, the blade had missed by a small margin. In her rage, the insane Yuno hardly seemed to have noticed how close she'd come to hurting him.

But Yuno had noticed. _That stupid bitch! She's not even making sure her attacks don't hurt Yukki!_ Yuno flew away, she'd meant to stay between her other self and Yukki to make sure he couldn't be stolen, but that was too dangerous for him. It seemed like he didn't know that he had god powers, so Yuno would have to do all the fighting.

As planned, Yuno's other self followed her. Good, now they was far enough from Yukki to keep him safe.

"Don't you dare run!" The insane Yuno threw her knife at Yuno.

This time, Yuno parried it with her own knife. However, instead of falling to the ground, it just disappeared. Although normally this would have rendered an opponent disarmed, the insane Yuno just made another knife appear in her hand.

Yuki stared at the two of them fighting each other. _What the hell is going on?_ Two Yunos. Two of them! The one wearing the nightgown, that must be the one who'd just tried to rape him. He recognized that disturbing crazed expression.

So he'd identified one of them. But who was the other one, the one wearing the black cloak? The second world's Yuno was dead, unless . . . could she have been brought back to life? Like he was?

No, that didn't make any sense. Why would Yuno want to bring another version of herself back to life?

Was she from another world? A third world? Maybe, but if so, why was she here? Unless . . . oh god . . . was _he_ the third world's Yukiteru? Was that how he'd been brought back to life? His memories implanted in another version of himself?

Hold on a second, both of the Yunos had god powers. Which must mean that they had won their survival games. That would mean the Yukiterus from three worlds had died!

But . . . the new Yuno had said something. She'd said that the "other" Yuno, and something about her taking over Murmur's body. Then that would mean that the Yuno he'd spent the past few days with was . . . could it possibly be true?

He looked up at the two Yunos fighting each other. At times, they were almost like mirror images of each other. Attacking each other with precision and bloodlust that was the trademark of Yuno. But that didn't last for long, the new Yuno seemed to be losing. The Yuno he'd been with was attacking her furiously, constantly swiping at her with her knife.

Yuno admitted to herself that she was having difficulty fighting her other self. She was being attacked mercilessly! She barely had any time to counter or dodge an attack before the next one came.

When she'd managed to regain her composure, Yuno watched her other self carefully. She parried the low swing that came from her left, and jabbed her knife directly at her other self's neck.

It missed, the insane Yuno flew backwards.

 _Damn it,_ cursed Yuno. Insane as her other self was, she was still at least a good a fighter as Yuno herself. Which would be expected.

She needed to end this quickly. Although Yuno been confident at the beginning of this fight, she was getting worried. She was feeling the effects of fatigue from the past few days. She needed her other self to drop her guard, to give her an opening to strike! But how would she make one?

Yuno noticed Yukki behind her other self and thought of a plan.

"Yukki, please! Try to remember!" yelled out Yuno.

The insane Yuno's eyes widened in fear. "NO! Shut up!" She flew straight at Yuno in rage.

"Don't listen to her Yukki! She's a fake! A fake!"

Good, it had worked, Yuno could already see how sloppy her other self was becoming. Just a little bit more, a bit more to get her other self to make a fatal mistake and then it would be over.

Yuki was confused by what the new Yuno had said. _Remember? What do I need to remember?_

"Yukki!" Yuno yelled out to him urgently. "Remember! The day we came to this world to become gods together, and we began our happy lives together. The night we went up on the hill to see the stars and made love."

 _The stars?_ Yuki suddenly remembered the dream he'd had all those days ago. Was it true? Had he really stargazed with Yuno? And . . . and made love to her again? Was the new Yuno the one he'd done it with?

"That time-" Yuno paused to block an attack. "That time we saw your family from this world, and I comforted you in your sadness. That time when we looked into each other's minds and finally understood each other. All the times when I needed you. You have to at least remember some of it, you have to!"

This wasn't just a distraction for her anymore, she wanted, she _needed_ Yukki to remember again. It was too painful for her to get that look of confusion and distrust from him.

"Shut up Shut up SHUT UP!" The insane Yuno was beyond furious. "You're a fake! _I'm_ the one who should have those kinds of memories with Yukki! Not you! Don't believe her Yukki!"

 _She said that we had come to this world as gods,_ realized Yuki. If that was true, then he should have god powers.

Did he? He didn't feel any different from when he was human, but it shouldn't be too hard to check.

Yuki flew up a foot of the ground.

He dropped himself in surprise. _It's true!_ He did have god powers! The new Yuno wasn't lying! He . . . he needed to make sure. He needed his memories back.

Yuki started examining his own mind with his newfound powers. There! A mental block, and to break it he just needed to . . . there!

The memories came flooding in. _Oh God,_ he remembered, Yuno _had_ died in his arms. She'd sacrificed herself for him, rather than killing him liked he'd asked. Then, he'd wasted away in the second world for thousands of years, because life had been pointless without her.

He remembered it all. When she'd found him again and they'd come to this world together. The happiness they'd found. The stargazing, the dates, the joy he felt at finally being able to give her what she deserved.

And he remembered Murmur One, and the Yuno personality that had taken her over. These past few days . . . he'd spent them thinking that she had been the real Yuno. He'd almost made love to her yesterday! And all those times they'd kissed . . .

"Stop it! Both of you stop fighting!" Yuki yelled at them. "I remember everything, it can all work out. Just stop!"

"Yukki . . ." Tears formed in Yuno's eyes. It had worked, it had actually worked. He remembered again! Now they'd-

The insane Yuno held Yuno with several dark arms coming out of a nearby wall. "You damn bitch! You ruined everything!"

 _No!_ Yuno had gotten distracted by Yukki getting his memories back. She struggled in vain against the arms, but she didn't know how to break free of them. How could she have been so careless? The other Yuno probably had Murmur One's experience with using her powers, while Yuno had only gotten them months ago. Not to mention the fact that there was a very good reason why the Murmur One once had her powers sealed by Deus.

"I'm going to kill you, you damn fake!" screamed the insane Yuno. She might have still been able to keep Yukki to herself if he didn't have the memories this world's Yuno had tainted him with!

"No, stop it!" Yuki had been flying towards them ever since he saw Yuno being held by the dark arms, but now he rushed as the insane Yuno flew at her, knife in hand. He had to stop her! She couldn't kill Yuno, he couldn't let it happen again!

She was getting closer, the knife only a foot away. Yuno was still trying to free herself, but it was hopeless, she couldn't escape. What could he do?! Nothing he could say would make the insane Yuno stop! He needed to think! A life without Yuno wasn't worth living, Yuki knew that far too well.

While he racked his brain for some hope of saving Yuno, Yuki's body almost moved by itself. The moment before the insane Yuno's knife pierced Yuno's chest, he reached out and slashed her in the side with a dark black knife that he hadn't known was in his hand.

Yuki's eyes widened in shock. This wasn't what he'd wanted! He'd wanted to save Yuno, but not at the cost of taking another life!

The arms holding Yuno dissolved as her other self fell to the ground. She was surprised by how far Yukki had gone to save her. He'd talked so much about finding a solution for everybody and even told her that she couldn't kill her other self.

This solution was still fine though, now she wouldn't have to worry about her other self anymore.

 _What is Yukki doing?_ Yuno saw him fly down to her other self.

He looked up at Yuno. "Quick, come down here and help me heal her!"

Heal her? What was he talking about? Why should they heal her after all the pain she'd inflicted on them?

Still, Yuno decided to fly down beside him and help. "Yukki . . ."

It was almost like he didn't notice her. Why was he looking at her other self with so much concern and fear? _He should know that I'm the only Yuno he loves._

Shouldn't he?

* * *

Murmur One watched in helpless horror as she saw the insane Yuno personality kill the third world's Yuki. It was disturbing, that her body was being used to do something so senseless and violent.

Although, it might be a good thing for her. The insane Yuno was becoming unstable, this was the first time in a while that Murmur One had been aware of what her body was doing. Which meant that the insane Yuno might be losing control of her body.

 _Oh no._

Murmur One was horrified by the state of mind the insane Yuno was in. She'd just repressed the memories she just had of killing the third world's Yuki and was starting to regain some mental stability, thinking about what to do once she got back to the Yuki in the Records.

Murmur One was losing awareness again, she tried to fight it, but it hadn't worked before and it didn't work now. The insane Yuno's force of mind was too powerful.

. . .

 _What is this?_ Murmur One regained awareness but something was wrong. Her body . . . there was a sharp pain in her side and something warm was running down her stomach.

Not only that, but the insane Yuno was incredibly weakened. The force that she normally had to overpower Murmur One's mind was absent. Her thoughts were faint and full of despair.

Murmur One pitied it. Whatever it was, the soul of the first world's Yuno or a personality created from her own mind, she could see that it had a life of its own. It was independent. She doubted that anyone else would understand, it shared her own body after all, and she knew experienced the memories of the first world's Yuno that had driven it.

For the first time in a while, Murmur One thought about what meaning in her life there was. She'd served Deus for centuries, playing with humans as toys, and never really finding any fulfillment.

It had been the memories of the first world's Yuno that had shown her the full range of emotions that she'd never experienced before. Love and devotion for someone, despair, hope, the desire for happiness.

Now, she'd return to her former state. But with the memory of having her body and mind twisted.

 _I've had enough of life,_ she concluded _._ This incident with the insane Yuno personality had deeply affected her. She didn't really feel comfortable in this body anymore, no matter how much she could change it. What was there to return to anyway? Just more of the same, it no longer held any value for her.

She heard faint voices. _It must be Yuki and Yuno._ Murmur One smiled inwardly. They would do fine without her, they had two other Murmurs after all.

They were trying to heal her, but she didn't want them to. Their attempts were understandably clumsy; they didn't have much experience using their powers after all, so it was easy to suppress any good they might do.

 _We're going to die together._ Murmur One directed the thought at the Yuno personality. It was deranged, twisted. Whatever Yuki might have done to help it, Murmur One doubted that he would have succeeded.

The thought depressed her even further. But she found some solace in the hope that the third world's Yuno wouldn't end up like it.

* * *

"Why isn't it working?" Yuki was kneeling beside the insane Yuno with his hands over her and tried desperately to heal her. He'd never used his god powers like this before, but he should be able to do _something_! He didn't want to be responsible for taking another life. Murmur One didn't deserve to die like this, and he needed to know the truth about the Yuno personality!

Yuno had been helping him heal her, but now she pulled her hands away. She hadn't had any luck fixing any of the damage to Murmur One's body. She'd been reluctant at first, she thought it would be safer if her other self died. But she owed too much to Murmur One.

"I think she's dead," she said softly to Yukki.

"No . . ." Yuki didn't want to admit the truth to himself. He'd just killed her. Even if it had been to save Yuno, he should have been able to think of another way! Not just lashing out in fear like a coward!

He kept trying to save her, no matter how hopeless it was.

Yuno put her hand on his shoulder, troubled by the panic on his face. "Yukki-

At that moment, both Murmur Two and Three appeared through a hole in space. The both of them paused at the scene in front of them.

"Quick, both of you come here and help me!" ordered Yuki.

They both regained their composure and went by his side.

It didn't take long for Murmur Two to realize the truth. "She's dead," she declared.

"How did this happen?" asked Murmur Three. She glared at Yuno accusingly. "Didn't Yuki say that we should capture her alive so he could help Murmur One?"

"Don't look at me like that!" responded Yuno. "I didn't do this!"

"Oh, sorry, of course it wasn't you," replied Murmur Three, her voice dripping of sarcasm. "I guess it must have been some other cra-

"She's telling the truth," interrupted Yuki in a blank voice. "I did it."

"Yuki . . ." Murmur Two looked at him. He'd been so adamant about helping Murmur One and the insane Yuno. He wasn't lying either, the guilt on his face was genuine. What had happened to make him do this?

Murmur Three sighed. "Well, whatever. I'll take care of the body." She returned Murmur One's body back to its former shape. Back into a small, tan woman with a 1 on her forehead. Murmur Three moved it through a hole in space to later deal with.

"Hey Yukki, let's go back to the Cathedral." Yuno had eased once Murmur Three had changed the body back to its original form. She was certain that the guilt Yukki felt was due to the fact that his emotions were out of control at seeing a dead body that looked so much like her. Now, they could go back to normal.

Before that, Murmur Two interrupted. "Actually, there's something you two need to see first. Come with me." She and Murmur Three both went through a hole in space, presumably to whatever they wanted to show them.

Yuki followed with Yuno at his side.

They emerged and Yuki was the first to react. "What the-!"

He looked down at a dead version of himself. It was the body of the third world's Yuki, he brought a hand up to his mouth to hold back any vomit. It was gruesome.

Yuki had seen another version of himself dead before, but that one had died from sleeping pills. This one . . . he could see his own face twisted in an expression of pain and confusion, his mouth wide open. There were dried tears on his face. Not only that, there were stab wounds all over his chest, the blood was still wet.

Yuno fared better than Yukki, but she was still disturbed by the sight. Its resemblance to him was the most unsettling aspect of it. She wasn't disturbed by the blood, but seeing a dead Yukki was a scene out of a nightmare. She looked away.

"H-how did this happen?" asked Yuki once he managed to calm himself.

"The insane Yuno did it," answered Murmur Two. Everyone already knew it was pointless to ask why. Who could have understood the mind of that lunatic?

"Why didn't you stop her?" Yuno glared at the Murmurs. "Shouldn't you have known where she was once she left the Records?"

Murmur Three replied in annoyance at the implication that it was their fault this had happened. "I did, but I needed to contact Murmur Two to help restrain her. She was an unsealed divine servant; I couldn't have beaten her with my own power. Once we got together though, the insane Yuno had already done this and left again."

"Alright, but why did you want to show us this instead of just telling me about it?" asked Yuki.

"It's important that you see this Yuki," explained Murmur Two. "You shouldn't feel too guilty about not being able to save the insane Yuno, considering what she was capable of." _And learn careful with this Yuno_ , she thought to herself.

"There's another thing," continued Murmur Two. "What should we do with the body?"

 **Author's Note:**

 **We got here! Twelve chapters after her introduction, the insane Yuno has been dealt with. Personally, I'm quite proud of thinking her up and having her act the way she did. I think I portrayed her reasonably, and honestly, she's not that different from Yuno herself in my opinion. Just loosen a few more screws and Yuno herself might become something similar.**

 **Again, I'm really sorry, I'd pretty much promised that I'd get this chapter out in a week but it took two instead. I have no excuses, if I hadn't been so lazy I probably could have written this by then.**

 **Lastly, you guys should know by now what I want. Begins with an R and ends with a –eview. If I go through the effort of writing these chapters, I think it's only fair of you guys to give me your opinion on them. I don't even mind if you think my story sucks, just tell me so.**

 **Don't think I haven't forgotten you faithful few who always leave reviews. Thank you guys.**

 **Next chapter up in about the same time, 2-3 weeks . . . hopefully.**


	21. Chapter 21: A Normal Life

**Sigh.**

 **Don't trust me when I make promises.**

Chapter 21: A Normal Life

Yuki glanced at the body of his third world self. "What are you talking about? Shouldn't we just leave it here for the police to find?"

"We could," Murmur Two answered. "But when Murmur Three and I found him, we thought there might be something else we could do."

"What do you mean?" he asked, concerned that they were suggesting to do something with the body.

"If you want, you can take his place," suggested Murmur Three.

Yuki blinked, then looked at the two of them, wondering if they were serious. Take the place of his third world self?

No, the idea was unthinkable. He didn't want to take advantage of the death of his third world self like that. It was wrong.

"I'm not doing that," he answered.

Murmur Two tried to convince him. "Look-

"No, I'm not going to just take his life for myself." He looked briefly at the body again. It really was grotesque, he didn't want to think about what the insane Yuno had done. "Can we leave now? I don't like looking at it."

The Murmurs didn't respond, except for Murmur Three taking the body into the Cathedral.

Murmur Two tried again. "Yuki, I think it would be best for you if you did this. Haven't you said before that you want a normal life? This is the best way to have one. You won't have to pretend to be someone else or forge documents. You can just be yourself."

He didn't answer, but judging by the look on his face, he seemed to be at least tempted by the idea.

Yet he didn't change his decision. "I can't."

"Yuki, at least consider how his parents would feel if they found out he'd died," said Murmur Two. "Do you want them to suffer?"

"Of course I don't want that, but that doesn't mean I'll happily pretend to be him!" he answered. "I'm not like he was. I'm not their son, and I'm not him!"

"You're still close enough that they might not be able to tell the difference," suggested Murmur Three. "Besides, you'd still have to pretend to be something you're not if you want to somehow live a normal life. Why not just take the easy route?"

Yuno spoke up. "Yukki, I think you should do it."

"What?"

"I know you miss your parents. Even if you say that the parents of your third-world self aren't your actual parents, they aren't _that_ different. It's not wrong to live with them as if they're your actual parents. I want you to do what will make you happy." She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

Even if what she said was true, Yuki realized that she probably had more selfish reasons for wanting him to live out in this world as his old self. This way she'd see him more often, he wouldn't have to hide his face, they'd go to school together, and she'd be able to visit him more often if he lived in the third world instead of making her lie about going to the Cathedral.

But . . . maybe he shouldn't be so dismissive about the idea.

"I'll think about it," he replied after leaving Yuno's embrace. He turned to the Murmurs. "You two hold onto the body until I make my decision."

They nodded. Murmur Two seemed pleased that he was considering it more carefully. Yuki realized that she really believed that this would be the best for him.

He decided to go to the Cathedral, and the four of them left. However, he noticed that Murmur Two had already cleaned the blood, as if assuming that he'd ultimately decide to live as his third world self.

Actually, it _would_ be strange if someone saw a pool of blood in the street. Although that didn't mean Murmur Two had that in mind when getting rid of it.

The four entered the throne room, both Murmurs went off to deal with the body. Yuki and Yuno went to their bedroom.

Along the way, Yuno tried and failed to stifle a yawn.

"Tired?" asked Yuki. After all, it was the middle of the night.

"Just a bit," reassured Yuno. "But I'm too happy to sleep right now, I'm just so glad to have you back."

He smiled, although now that he got a closer look at her, she seemed more than _just a bit_ tired. She was struggling to keep her eyes open, he guessed that the adrenaline rush from fighting her other self was wearing off. She must have gotten up in the middle of bed to save him.

"I'm happy to be with you too," he answered. He really was, right now, all the little problems in their relationship didn't seem to matter as much. They hadn't disappeared, but they could be solved.

Especially since he knew exactly how unstable Yuno could be.

Yuno tried and failed to stop another yawn, covering her mouth in annoyance. Damn it, this wasn't the time! Not when Yukki was back! She'd just use her powers to deal with it.

"You know, I think it would be best if you went to sleep," he said, before she did.

"No, no! I'm not tired!" At least, she wouldn't be in a moment.

Yuki smiled. "You are. Just go to sleep naturally Yuno, it'll be better if you don't use your powers."

"Are you going to sleep too?" she asked him.

He paused. "Not right now," he answered, shaking his head. "I need to think about my decision."

"Then I'll stay up to help," she suggested immediately.

He looked to the side awkwardly, "No, I-I need to be alone for a bit. Just go to sleep, okay?"

"But . . ." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. She'd taken it for granted that when he returned, they'd immediately spend time together. But now he wanted to be by himself?

Yuki sighed guiltily. _Damn it, I wish she wouldn't look so disappointed._ The look she was giving him almost made him change his mind.

He kissed her briefly on the lips, then looked her in the eyes. "I promise I'll be back in a bit," he said with complete sincerity. "It'll be better for you to rest, alright?"

She nodded.

Yuno went back to bed, although it felt a lot less lonely now that Yukki was actually back. She fell asleep almost immediately, just after he wished her good night.

Yuki closed the door.

He needed to find another room. Somewhere he could just sit down and _think_. His study would do. It was close by, and he could relax there.

Once he sat down at his desk, he let out an enormous sigh.

 _What in the hell!_ Couldn't the world give him a break? Hadn't he suffered enough in the survival game? Not to mention the time he'd spent grieving for Yuno.

The insane Yuno, he truly hoped that she really had been just a set of memories. He _needed_ to believe it. Otherwise he wasn't sure whether he could handle the alternative. The thought of the girl he loved suffering like that made crushed his heart.

Especially when the unwelcome thought that _he_ had killed her entered his mind. He put his head down in despair and guilt.

After all of his talking about helping Murmur One, telling Yuno again and again that she couldn't kill her, he'd been the hypocrite and done it instead. It had been to protect her, he knew that. If he had to make the choice between saving this Yuno or her other self again, he would have made the same decision, no matter how horrible he felt right now. This world's Yuno was the one he'd chosen.

That didn't change the fact that he could have prevented Murmur One's death if he had just regained his memories sooner. No, even after regaining his memories, he'd wasted time trying to convince the insane Yuno with words. He should have used his god powers immediately. If he'd just summoned those arms he could have stopped her before losing control over himself in desperation and stabbing her.

 _Stop, just stop,_ he thought to himself. He couldn't keep thinking about this, he'd just keep blaming himself over and over again and keep thinking of what he could have done.

He needed to come to a decision over whether to live in this world as his other self.

He really wanted too, very badly. He missed his parents, even if he'd never be able to tell them what he really wanted to, he wanted to meet with them, talk to them. He'd thought that he'd dealt with the desire when he'd talked to them in their dreams, but now he knew that it was still present.

Really, how could he have been so naïve? It was almost like thinking he'd be able to feel better if he had only seen or talked to Yuno once during his time in the second world and never being with her again. He knew that wasn't true, if he'd done that his heart would have ached more. He loved her, and he loved his parents, of course he'd want to be with them.

His mom's kind smile and her playful teasing. The happy times they'd had together playing video games. His dad's jokes and the made-up stories about his younger days. He smiled fondly as he thought about them.

The smile disappeared as he thought about how it had become possible for him to experience them again. Because the insane Yuno had killed his third world self.

Another thing to blame himself for, and quite frankly something that still scared him regardless of the fact that she was dead. What if she'd gone over the deep end when she'd been with _him_? Although he had his god powers, he hadn't remembered that he had them when he'd been with her.

Would she have healed him? After all, she hadn't done so for his third world self. Even if she had, that could have just led to a horrifying cycle of her traumatizing him and healing him, with him doing his best to retain his sanity. She might not have tried to tamper with his memories of those, probably fearing him remembering everything if she did. Although whether that would make it easi-

He shook his head furiously. He was doing it again!

 _I can't keep thinking about the insane Yuno._ If it wasn't guilt running through his mind then it would be fear.

He sighed and stood up, maybe it would be better for him to get another opinion on living in the third world.

* * *

Murmur Two was sitting in the throne room, making sure the everything was functioning smoothly as she saw Yuki approach. She moved off the throne. It was fine for her to use it when she and Murmur Three were working, but Yuki and Yuno they should have the priority of being able to use it.

He looked around. "Where's Murmur Three?" he asked.

"Sleeping," she answered.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You guys sleep?"

"Sometimes." She shrugged. "We feel refreshed after a good nap every once in a while."

He flew up to the throne, increasing its size to fit him better.

"Are you still thinking about whether or not to take your chance living in the third world?" asked Murmur Two softly.

He nodded. "I just . . . it's wrong to just take his place."

"Can I ask why?"

"Do you really need to? It would be incredibly selfish! To pretend to be someone that I'm not, and . . . and just _take_ the love of strangers for myself."

"I don't really see the problem with that," she replied nonchalantly. "You deserve to be a little selfish after all that time you wasted moping."

"No. Besides, they're not even my real-

She flew right to his face and stared him down. "Stop saying that they're not your parents. They are, or at least the closest you'll ever get. And I doubt you would get so upset about being selfish if you considered them 'strangers'".

Yuki stared at her in surprise momentarily, before admitting reluctantly. "Fine, you're right."

"Say that they're your parents."

He gave her an incredulous look.

Murmur Two ignored it. "Come on. Say it."

"Alright, alright," he said with an amused smile. "They're my parents. Happy now?"

"Yes, so when do you plan on joining them again?"

His smile faded. "I never said that I would."

Murmur Two looked at him with disappointment. "Really? Can't you at least consider how much it would hurt them to find out that their son is dead?"

"That would still be better than living in ignorance of their dead son and having him replaced with someone else." Yuki answered with more than a hint of anger at the low blow.

Murmur Two flew back a bit at the hostility in his voice. Suddenly, she realized something important. "I get it now," she muttered after a few moments. "So that's why you're so against it."

"What?"

She approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know that you wouldn't be doing this for the same reasons Yuno did, right?"

"What?! What are you talking about?"

"The reason why you're so unwilling to take his place is because that's what Yuno did during the survival game," she answered as if it were obvious.

"No! That's not it at all!" he argued.

"Oh really?" she sneered. "Then listen to me and see if you can say that again once I'm finished."

"After Yuno won the first survival game," began Murmur Two. "She tried to bring your first-world self back to life, but she was unable to. When she found that out, she instead went back in time and created another world. Killing the Yuno of the second world and taking her place. Then-

"I already know what happened," said Yuki. "You don't have to tell-

"I do," interrupted Murmur Two. "Because you're ignoring the obvious truth and I need to shove it in your face. Now don't interrupt me again."

She continued once she was sure he'd keep his mouth shut. "Then, she played the survival game with you in the second world. That time, she tried to make sure you'd win, and especially so once she regained her memories of the first world. However, you refused to do so at the cost of her life. So instead, she decided to go to a third world and repeat what she did in an attempt to fulfill her insane desire of living with you, or more specifically a Yuki. Then, with the help of Ninth you managed to convince her to give up on that plan. Leading her to kill herself to ensure your survival and victory in the game."

"And just a few months ago, you reunited with this world's Yuno. Who had regained the memories of the one you had fallen in love with. But those memories also took root in one of us, a Murmur, which led to her going insane, capturing you, and you returning with both her and this world's Yuki dead."

Yuki sighed. "That still doesn't explain what makes you think that has to do anything with this."

She shook her head in disappointment. "I think it's pretty obvious how guilty you feel over all this happening. Not to mention the fact that how it ended is pretty ideal for your desire to live with Yuno in the third world."

"Even if you don't believe me, I'll say it as many times as necessary." continued Murmur Two. "This isn't the same as what Yuno did, the act that horrified you. You didn't want him to be killed, you didn't make the insane Yuno kill him, you're her victim just like he was. The fact that this ended so well is something you should take advantage of. Not something you should sit around moping about!"

Yuki considered her words. She was right in the fact that he hadn't done what Yuno did . . . but that still didn't make it right for him to replace his other self.

"And consider this too. Yuno, our Yuno, has been working herself ragged for the past few days looking for your stupid self. Her coming to save you was right in the middle of her sleeping for the first time in days. You might not think that's such a big deal considering she has god powers to help out, but staying awake under constant stress isn't fun. Her mind needed rest more than her body did."

Yuki hadn't thought about that. _That's just like her to do that,_ he thought.

"If you live in the third world as yourself, you can easily fit back in and stay by her side. Take the opportunity for her happiness if you're not willing to do so for your own," suggested Murmur Two with a hint of reluctance. Yuno's other self seemed to indicate that she could follow the same path. Murmur Two was worried about Yuki's safety, even if she thought it might be better for him and Yuno to be separated, neither would agree.

This was the best choice for his happiness and safety.

 _For her happiness,_ the phrase echoed in his course, this decision would affect Yuno a lot too. It wasn't just about him.

"Is there anything else you need to say to me?" he asked her.

"No, that was pretty much it. Unless you still need some help making up your mind," she said with a mischievous grin. "I'm sure I could keep talking."

"Don't worry, I won't need any help," he replied with a laugh. "I'll tell you what I'll do tomorrow."

"Hmph, don't think you'll have as much time as you want. We won't be able to keep the choice open forever."

"I know." He moved off the throne. "See you later."

Yuki flew down to ground and walked back to the bedroom.

He'd had a feeling there was more to Yuno's exhaustion than just from waking up in the middle of the night. So it hadn't been wrong of him to tell her to sleep and not just get rid of her fatigue with her powers. He just wished he'd suggested it to out of concern for her well-being rather than using it as an opportunity to be alone.

What a great boyfriend he was, avoiding her just to get some peace. Getting himself captured like an idiot, leaving her all alone, making her fight her other self because he couldn't do anything.

He had to make it up to her. Their relationship couldn't have so much of him hurting and taking advantage of her like that, even if he didn't mean to. No matter how much she cared for him, he needed to realize that the possibility that he'd lose her love existed. He couldn't take her for granted.

Yuki stood by the bed so he could look at her. He forced himself to not be afraid, after all she looked the exact same as her other self.

There shouldn't be any fear, even if her appearance was, she wasn't the same. This Yuno had saved him, and she loved him rather than obsessively desired him.

Luckily, right now it was easier than it would have been otherwise to appreciate her. He'd always loved seeing her when she was asleep, she always seemed to be so calm and happy. It was such a sharp contrast to how she was sometimes when she was awake.

He reminded himself. He needed to love all of her, not just the parts of her that were easy to deal with.

* * *

 **Author's N** **ote:**

 **I can't apologize enough for what I've done. I hate it when there's a fanfic I really love and enjoy that's not updated for months and or worse just abandoned.**

 **And now I've done one of those two. Sure, I gave an update a couple of months ago, but honestly I should have had this chapter up a week or two after that. It shouldn't have been two months.**

 **I could give excuses, like college taking a lot of my time or the fact that I've also got a part-time job to help pay for my education. But honestly, I know I could have found the time to finish this a lot sooner, and I didn't.**

 **I don't know _why_ I do this. I actually have fun writing this, it's usually not a chore when I do it. (Unless I get writer's block, which usually doesn't last very long so I can't use it as an excuse) I _like_ doing this, I'm not just doing this out of commitment to you guys. **

**It's just that whenever I go about my day-to-day life, whenever I think about continuing this fanfic it seems like a chore to me. Even though it really isn't and I just spent the last hour and a half finishing it which proves it. I started feeling this way a while ago, I have no idea why and I'm sorry you guys have to suffer because of that.**

 **Anyway, I think I have enough story to keep this fanfic going for quite a while. Maybe even twenty more chapters. But I can't give you an accurate estimate of when they'll be written. Maybe I'll start feeling the same way as I did when I started and get it to you guys in a few weeks, maybe it'll be a lot longer.**

 **P.S.**

 **Wow, I just read the author's note for the last chapter and I feel even worse. There I'm apologizing for a chapter taking two weeks instead of the one it had taken before.**


	22. Chapter 22: A Date

Chapter 22: A Date

Yuno felt a hand on her shoulder and shake her slightly. She shifted a little under her covers, but still didn't wake up.

"Come on Yuno, it's time to get up," whispered Yuki.

After a few moments, Yuno pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed. After stretching, she smiled as she fully opened her eyes and saw Yuki.

"Good morning," he said to her.

"Morning," she replied and promptly yawned.

 _She looks so cute in the morning,_ thought Yuki. Her slightly unkempt hair, the relaxed and well-rested look on her face, and her adorable yawns were just too much.

So cute in fact, that he immediately reached down and kissed her. She made a short sound of surprise before she accepted it and deepened the kiss.

When they pulled apart, she was blushing and said bashfully, "Yukki, what was that for? I haven't even brushed my teeth yet, you should have waited."

"It's alright, your breath wasn't that bad." To be honest it hadn't been bad at all, she didn't really taste any different from usual.

"Yukkii," she pouted at him.

"I was just kidding, and to answer your other question . . ." He put a finger to his chin pretending to be deep in thought. "I did it because, well, I really wanted to."

"Wow, already having dirty thoughts?" she teased. She was glad that his experience with the fake Yuno wasn't straining their relationship.

He grinned and shrugged. "Come on, a kiss isn't really that 'dirty'."

"You're right, we'll get to that later won't we?"

"Maybe," he answered. "But for now I think you should get ready, I have a very special day planned for you."

She crawled off the bed in anticipation and went to the bathroom. What could he have done? And what for? He'd already done plenty of things for her to show her love. She fondly recalled the flowers he'd gotten her not that long ago. He hadn't tried to surprise her like this very often.

 _I guess he really must have missed me,_ she decided. After all, even without his memories he must have known that he was with a fake Yuno. And he must have missed his true love more after regaining his memories during that fight.

It really had felt great to just collapse onto their bed after that mess. She felt refreshed and full of energy, and her body felt so light she felt that like she could float. Now that Yukki was back, she could stop worrying. This was the way things should be, just her and Yukki and no one to get in the way of their love.

After she finished brushing her teeth and cleaning up, she opened a cabinet full of cosmetics. After all, if Yukki was making today special for her, she should do something special for him too. She didn't usually wear make up, she thought her face looked fine enough on its own. Yukki certainly liked it more than enough, but some enhancement wouldn't hurt.

She started with concealer to cover up some beauty marks and foundation to even it out. She lightly added some blush, adding some color to her skin. The mascara really did bring attention to her eyelashes. She liked it. There was also some lipstick. Should she put it on?

No, that felt like a bit too much.

Yuno looked into the mirror to see the results. She really did look better, Yuki would be so surprised!

Now to decide on what to wear.

Yuki packed more food into the picnic basket. Were there enough sandwiches? What about drinks? Should he get more water and juice?

Murmur Three came in to the kitchen while he contemplated the matter of food and drinks with almost comical intensity.

"Oh, that looks nice." She flew beside him and pointed at the ham sandwich he was holding. "Can I have one?"

"There's more on the counter." Yuki pointed behind him to the sight of more than a few sandwiches. Ham, beef, chicken, it seemed like he'd gone a bit overboard in his cooking.

She took a ham one anyway and bit into it. "So what's all this for?" she asked as she chewed.

"A date for Yuno and me," he answered as he added a few more things to the basket.

"Oh." Another date between the masters? So soon?

"So, have you decided on whether you're going to live in the third world as your other self yet?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"And . . .?"

For the first time he took his eyes off the things he was preparing and looked at Murmur Three. "And I'll tell you later. Before then, can you and Murmur Two make sure h- my parents stay calm about him missing?"

"Sure," she answered. "But why don't you just tell us already? There's no point in being secretive about it if you've already decided."

Yuki thought carefully before he responded. "It's hard to explain, but I want Yuno to be the first to know. This has a big effect on her too, and she has the right to know what I'll do."

At that moment they heard footsteps from the stairs. Yuki stopped giving his reasoning to Murmur Three and quickly packed the food into the basket.

Once he saw Yuno, he froze, stunned by her appearance. She looked different, he almost couldn't think of another way to describe her.

He always told her that she'd looked beautiful, and it had always been true. But the way she looked now was on a completely different level. Her wonderfully smooth skin almost seemed to be glowing, it was strange but there was no other way to explain it, she was glowing with beauty. Once he took that in, he was almost immediately drawn to her eyes. There was something about them that _forced_ him to look at them.

She really was a goddess.

Yuno was concerned by the surprised stare Yuki was giving her. "I put some make-up on, does it look strange?"

"No! No! Not at all!" he quickly replied. "You just looked so amazing that it shocked me."

She beamed at the praise. "I'm glad you like it, maybe I should do this more often. Although . . ."

"Hmm, what is it?"

"Does that mean that you thought I looked ugly before?" she asked with a fake frown.

Yuki smiled at her playfulness and shook his head. "Of course not. I always think you look beautiful."

Yuno giggled walked up to him. "So what are we going to do today?"

"Eat food and have fun." He gestured at the basket and other bags. "And I think I've chosen a pretty good place to do that at."

Yuki grabbed Yuno's hand along with the basket and bags, leading her out of the Cathedral. Once they reappeared, Yuno gasped at the sight that met them.

He'd chosen a perfect beach for their date. And it was perfect, the wide blue sky was devoid of any clouds while the Sun floated low in the eastern sky. It must have risen only a short while ago. The blue sea was calm with only gentle waves lapping the golden sand. Everything was bathed in orange sunlight, giving them almost unearthly hues.

And there were no other people, it was as if a paradise had been built just for the two of them.

Even Yuki, who must have already known what the landscape looked like, took some time to appreciate the view. Yuno felt him squeeze her hand, and she felt a sense of closeness as they paused and watched the ocean together.

"I certainly picked a great place, didn't I?"

She nodded in agreement. "But you should have told me we were going to the beach, then I would have been able to bring a swimsuit."

"Actually, I brought one for you." He pointed at one of the bags.

She looked inside, seeing that he'd also brought sunscreen, a picnic blanket, along with other beach suuplies before taking out a yellow bikini. She saw that it was the right size as well.

Yuno acted as if she were judging it. "Well . . . it's fine, but I would have brought something more revealing."

"Yeah, well, that would have been too distracting." Yuki answered. Honestly, he'd chosen for her because he did _not_ want to see her wearing anything pink. Even though the color almost always looked very good on her, after what had happened . . .

"Besides, it's not like you need any help seducing me," he added with a hint of nervousness.

Yuno shrugged, missing his unease. "I guess so." But she couldn't help being pleased.

"It's still a bit early to swim, we should take a walk first," he suggested.

Yuno returned the swimwear to the bag and followed, holding Yukki's outstretched hand.

* * *

Murmur Two stayed hidden behind the trees as she watched her masters walk on the path Yuki had asked her to prepare.

"Remind me again why we're here?" asked Murmur Three.

"Because we're going to watch them on their date! Aren't you interested?"

"No, not really, it's just a date. We've seen them go on dates before, what makes this one so important?"

"Considering what happened, I think it's a good idea to make sure their relationship is okay," Murmur Two.

". . . Why?"

"Why?"

Murmur Three shot her a confused look. "Yes, why? What does it matter if their relationship is okay or not? Our job is world maintenance and obeying orders. Their relationship doesn't affect the state of the world, and I don't remember them ordering us to keep their relationship intact."

"That's true, but this is still important! We need to make sure he is – I mean, the two of them are happy. "

"Maybe _you_ feel that you need to, but I don't. It seems like a lot of work for nothing."

Murmur Two spluttered. "N-nothing?! What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean that their relationship isn't going to last," explained the third-world servant. "Her head's more than a bit messed up, and it'll only be so long until he realizes that he can't fix that. Besides, even if it does, so what? It's not like it matters to me whether they're happy together or not."

It didn't matter to her. Murmur Two understood now. All her counterpart cared about was doing her job and having fun. That was why she'd even bothered to watch for some of their other dates, but now following their masters on their dates had become boring. She didn't care about making sure nothing went wrong, in fact, she probably would have been _happy_ if something had gone wrong and provided some excitement.

"You know what?" Murmur Two replied. "Fine, you can go back to the Cathedral and do what you want, I'll be here."

Murmur Three left wordlessly through a portal.

Murmur Two saw Yuki and Yuno laugh at some joke as they held hands together. It made her happy that she could see Yuki smile after what had happened to him, but Murmur Three didn't care whether the couple suffered as long as the world kept running. Murmur Two tightened her hands into fists, but she was being ridiculous, why should Murmur Three care? After all, back in the second world, she'd been much the same. Occupied only with her job and whatever entertainment she could find.

When she'd met Yuki, that had changed. Frankly, he'd been an overemotional brat. Although that wasn't surprising for someone his age, it had bothered Murmur Three immensely. He had refused to do anything, only wanting to grieve for the loss of his demented girlfriend and allowing the world to collapse. No matter how hard she prodded and berated him, he'd just laid there for millennia.

By all rights it should have infuriated her, and it had. Her purpose, her world, all gone because of one hormonal teenager? If he weren't her master she might have been able to do something, steal his power, repair her world and perform her task. But she had to obey him, and all there was for her to do besides read the manga she'd manage to keep safe was listen to him lament.

And as she did, little by little, she learned more about him. He hated himself, he knew he was weak and useless. By all rights he shouldn't have won the survival game at all. Even considering how unhinged Yuno was, he had been incredibly fortunate to have her as an ally. Apparently, he would have died in his first battle against another diary owner if he hadn't taken advantage of her to help him.

Over time, Yuki had told her those stories. Of what had happened in the second world while Murmur Two had been imprisoned in the sphere by her other self. They had been entertaining, that had been the initial reason she'd paid attention to them. But as he'd grown more heartfelt as he neared the end of his retelling, she'd begun to invest more emotion into the story. And into him. His tears, the catch in his voice as he struggled to continue, maybe he had been so willing to tell her his past and entertain her because he felt guilty for forcing Murmur Two to go through living through an empty world. Or maybe he'd needed somebody to listen.

She didn't remember exactly when it was, but at some point, Murmur Two hadn't been able to take it anymore as Yuki blamed himself for Yuno's death. She supposed that was when she'd truly started to care for Yuki.

He was her first friend. The first person she'd truly made a connection with. And although he was her master and friend, she considered herself something more like a mother to him, someone who loved him and wanted the best for him. While also shaking her head at his mistakes but still willing to help him.

Even at this distance, she could tell that Yuki was smiling as he walked hand in hand with Yuno.

Yuno, Murmur Two's opinion on her was a bit more complicated. She made Yuki happy, but she was dangerous. Murmur Two would have been uneasy about her even if this whole business with Murmur One and Yuno's memories hadn't taken place. She'd scouted her out before the survival game had begun, and what she knew wasn't suggestive of a happy, stable relationship. An obsessive girl who's only meaning in life had been Yuki. Her desire was of such an extent that she'd crossed worlds to be with him, even intending to kill and replace him and her other selves.

As if that weren't enough, now those memories were mingled with those of a Yuno who'd been raised as a normal girl for the past two years. While that seemed to have had a good effect on her, it made the girl much more unpredictable. Which was _not_ a good thing. If she'd been a normal human girl, Murmur Two would have encouraged Yuki to break it off with her, certain that he could find another if he wanted.

Yet Yuno's status as Yuki's equal made that option impossible. Yuno wouldn't leave, and neither Yuki nor Murmur Two could force her to. Murmur Two had no choice but to run damage control and present a hand of friendship to Yuno. So far, things between the two of them seemed fine, but Murmur Two was still wary.

* * *

"That was great," said Yuno as she laid down on the towel. Closing her eyes and feeling the hot sun on her wet skin. She heard Yuki sit down next to her.

"Yeah," agreed Yuki. "I'm surprised though, I didn't know you were that good at swimming."

She shrugged. "I practice, my parents wanted me to take part in sports at school, so I did and swimming was one of them."

"Do you like it?"

She shrugged again. "It's alright, although I like it a lot more when I can just have fun rather than do timed laps."

"Oh." He sat there awkwardly, unsure how to continue the conversation.

Yuno stretched, giving him a view that he very much appreciated. Although he was uncertain whether that was on purpose or not.

"You had fun too, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah, this was great," he answered earnestly.

She sighed contentedly as she held his hand. "It's so nice to have you back."

He tightened his grip on her hand. "I must have made you worry, huh?"

"A lot," she nodded. "It . . . wasn't easy." She thought back to those anxious searches through the tunnels, accompanied by her fear of Yuki's unknown fate.

"I'm sorry." He looked down in shame. "This is all because I got myself captured like an idiot, and made you risk your life to find me."

"Hey," she sat up, caressing his face and turning his head to look him in the eyes. "Don't blame yourself like that. It's over now, and everything worked out. You're back, we're together, and that _bitch_ is dead."

He swallowed nervously at the anger she'd ended her sentence with. "Do you really think she deserved to die?"

"Of course, don't you?" she asked in confusion. "You're the one who killed her after all."

"I did," he admitted reluctantly. "But it wasn't because I wanted to, she needed help, and instead I end up shoving a knife in her."

"Yukki . . ."

"I just _stood_ there like an idiot while you fought for your life against her, all because I'd been dumb enough to get captured and have my memories blocked. And what do I do when I finally remember? I kill her, because I was scared and didn't think straight. After all I said to you about letting her live, I end up being the ultimate hyp-

Yuno cut him off with a finger to his lips. "Yukki. Stop." She said with a frown. She took her hand away, pausing a few seconds to make sure he didn't continue.

She softened her eyes and spoke. "I hate it when you do that you know. Think of yourself as worthless and start hating yourself. Even when you don't say it out loud, I can tell when you start doing it."

She really could. Sometimes when he made mistakes during their dates, and especially during their search for Murmur One, he'd look down at the ground with such shame and self-loathing that it almost broke her heart. It was _wrong_ for him to feel that way, to hurt himself with something so far from the truth.

"I love you." She told him, putting as much weight as she could into those words. "You might not think so, but you're amazing. This world is proof of that, if it weren't for you, lots of people's lives would be much worse. In fact, I wouldn't even be alive, or part of a happy family."

"That's true, but-

"No buts," she interrupted. "It's just true. I love you, and you need to realize your self-worth. Okay?"

"I . . . okay," he answered non-committedly.

She inwardly sighed, it was obvious that Yukki hadn't taken her words to heart. Why was he so stubborn in doing this to himself? Why couldn't he see himself at least a little bit like she saw him? Yes, he had flaws, she knew that. Yet he was exaggerating them, and he ignored how important it was that he wanted to better himself.

Fine then, if she needed to, she'd get rid of his notion of self-hatred. She'd show him how amazing he was and make him feel better about himself.

"Enough about that, I need to tell you something." Yuki paused. "I'm going to live in the third world with my parents, and take my other self's place."

"Really?!" she asked excitedly.

He nodded. "It still feels a bit wrong, but Murmur Two really helped make my decision."

"Oh, it'll be great!" Yuno hugged him. "You and I'll be able to go on dates together without your disguise, and I'll be able to tell everyone that you're my boyfriend! We could meet together all the time and go to each other's houses!"

Her joy and anticipation removed a lot of Yuki's remaining doubt. She was right, a lot of things would be easier after he did this. No more hiding his face when he was in the third world, afraid of being mistaken for his other self. He'd also have a home, with a family that would love and care for him.

"We'd go to the same school, we won't be in the same class but at least in the same building, and I could introduce you to my friends and . . ." Her eyes shined at the realization. "Eventually to my parents too!"

He smiled at her enthusiasm, this really did mean a lot to her. "That sounds fun," he added. "Do you have a lot of friends besides Hinata, Mao, and Kousaka?"

"I have some, but they're not really as important to me as those three."

"Hm, it'll be weird to be reintroduced to them. I'm not sure if my acting's good enough to pretend that I'm meeting them for the first time."

"You'll be fine, I know you'll be able to." Yuno reassured him.

"Thanks," he appreciated the sentiment. "By the way, are you hungry?"

At that moment, Yuno's stomach rumbled slightly. "I guess that's your answer," she said sheepishly.

He took out a few sandwiches and handed her a couple along with some juice that had somehow managed to stay somewhat cool in the hot weather. She guessed that she had the parasol and basket to thank for that, and Yukki's foresight.

The two sat there eating their sandwiches happily. Eventually, Yukki asked her for more details of her life in the third world. Which Yuno was happy to answer.

Over the past few months, she'd given him some insight into the path her life had taken in this world. Such as how she was now much closer with her parents, since they'd come together ever since the time Yuki had arrived two years ago during the survival game. He'd been familiar with the abuse Yuno's parents had inflicted on her and had been skeptical of how well her parents had treated her. While it had not been easy, she was confident in saying that her family had moved past their issues. If it hadn't been for him, she would have again lived out the nightmare that was the memories of her first-world self.

Yukki always got uncomfortable when she thanked him for that. Which still confused her, why wouldn't he just accept the good he'd done for her? Why was it so hard for him to think better of himself?

But she wouldn't bring that up again. No, right now, she'd tell him stories of the fun she had. Mao always following Hinata, sometimes trying to get some clandestine pictures of her friend. While Hinata usually had some cute dogs for them to play with that she'd borrowed from her dad, along with loud and heavy-handed Kohsaka. In this world, he hadn't grown to be the bully that he had become previously. Which she'd like to think was due to her and the others' influence.

As she told him about one time they'd had fun on the beach, Yukki politely interrupted. "What about Akise? You're friends with him too, aren't you?"

She paused as she thought. "He was always the type to sit back and watch. And just smile mysteriously."

"Sounds like he hadn't changed much."

"Yeah, you know, now that I have my memories. The way he acted makes sense, he was supposed to watch in case I became like . . . my old self. And he knew the things I'd done in previous worlds."

As the expression of guilt showed up on her face, Yuki spoke up. "Hey, that doesn't mean you're how you were before, or that you would have become like that. He was just being careful." He tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, I guess so," agreed Yuno. Still, she thought to herself. _Would it be so bad if I were a bit more like my old self?_

They'd agreed to consider her and the first world Yuno the same, and frankly it was easier for her to think of herself that way as well. But at times the differences between Yuno as she was now and her first world self surprised her, and she could tell that was the case for Yukki at times as well. He'd said that he wanted them to be less dependent on each other, but did he realize how much she needed him? It wasn't like it had been in previous worlds, this time she'd spent years wishing for him without knowing it. Would he want her old self? Someone who's desires and motivations he was more familiar with?

If she had been more like her old self, would she have been able to stop Yukki from being taken away? Would she have been able to keep a better hold on him, to keep him hers, to make _sure_ he never-

 _No!_ She couldn't start thinking like that! Like her old self! Remember, remember what she'd done when she'd been afraid of losing him. Remember the shame and disgust she felt at herself when looking back on the memories of drugging and tying him up. How it had ended up pushing him away from her when she'd needed him the most. What she'd done was wrong, thinking like this was wrong!

"Yuno! Hey Yuno!" Yukki snapped her out of it, practically shouting with worry.

"Wh-what is it?" She cursed herself for stuttering, yet still tried to put on a calm expression.

"You just spaced out," explained Yuki. "I must have said your name like six times trying to get your attention. What happened?"

"I guess I'm more like my old self than I thought," she answered.

Yuki's blood chilled. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I-I can't say," Yuno's bit her lip as she realized how suspicious that seemed.

Even as Yuki felt sweat drip down his back, which was _not_ because of the heat, he persevered. "Yuno, you can tell me. I can trust you."

He _could_ trust her, in other words Yukki was capable of trusting her, but did that mean he trusted her at this moment?

Yuno suddenly gripped his arm tightly. "Just promise me something, you love me, right? Always?" Her speech started to get more frantic. "So even if I was my old self you wouldn't leave me, right? You'll stay by my side and we'll love each other and everything will still perfect, won't it? Won't it?!"

Rather than answering her, Yuki calmly and slowly freed his arm. Then, he moved his hand behind her and pulled her closer to him. Eventually, her head was buried in his shoulder, and she was sitting on top of his lap with her arms around him. He started stroking her hair, it had dried thanks to the sun. Although he noted that he could still smell a hint of ocean salt on her, and he breathed out a sigh as her soft body melded with his.

"I love you," he reassured her. "I won't leave you, no matter what." He could feel her ease into him as he continued stroking her hair.

To be honest, when he'd seen the look in her eyes he'd had to fight down the instinct to run. Even now his racing heart was still in the process of slowing down. But he'd stayed, because it could have disastrous if he hadn't. Even the best case scenario would have had her heartbroken, and he didn't want to think about the worst case.

Even if she started becoming more possessive and jealous, she wouldn't pose as much danger as she had before. There was no survival game this time to make her paranoid, and no one to make her jealous, he hadn't even interacted with anyone from the third world yet. Also, they were both gods, he was confident that he could protect himself. The experience with Murmur One had made him more wary of certain changes that might occur in Yuno. But most importantly he trusted Yuno, her obvious guilt made it clear that she regretted what she'd done in the other worlds.

"Why would you think that I'd leave you?" he asked softly.

Yuno imagined what his expression would be if he knew what she'd been thinking. "I . . . I don't know," she lied.

"Come on, there has to be a reason," he gently prodded. "It's fine you can tell me."

"I just get so scared sometimes," she answered. "Like when I think about what just happened, and the way I used to be."

"It's okay, I'm here for you. You don't have to worry anymore."

That calmed Yuno a bit, and she stayed for a few minutes. Feeling the warmth of Yukki's body as she held onto him.

After some time, she raised her head off his shoulder and faced him. "Sorry about that, I guess that doesn't do wonders for my appearance of sanity, huh?" she joked nervously.

"Don't joke around like that," he said, almost angrily.

"I won't," she agreed. She looked down and smirked. "Oh . . ."

"What?"

"Look down," she indicated with her eyes.

Yuki looked down, and saw that she was straddling him. Adding that to her bikini and the fact that her chest was rather close to his face . . .

"This is an interesting position," she pointed out with her playful grin. "You did this on purpose, didn't you?"

His face flushed deep red. "No, I just wanted to make you feel better," he answered. And immediately realized what he said.

"Make me feel better? So I _was_ right!" she teased.

Before he could say anything back, she cut him off with a kiss. Yuki cursed himself for being so embarrassed. And Yuno for toying with him like this. Although, he preferred her teasing and playing with him rather than upset and anxious.

She tasted like the mango-flavored drink he'd given her, and as always her soft lips felt heavenly. She slowly pushed him down so his back was flat on the blanket, and kept her lips firmly locked on his.

Yuno sighed with relief into the kiss. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this, the sense of closeness and belonging with Yukki. The physical pleasure was secondary to that, and she couldn't help but smile as he responded eagerly to her.

She ran her hands through his hair and brought her mouth to other parts of his body. His cheek, leaving a few pecks on his neck. As she went further down and moved her legs back, she could feel his heart hammering in his chest, exciting her even more. Once she reached the bottom of his stomach, she brought her head up and looked down at him.

Yukki was breathing a bit heavily, and his cheeks were still flushed, but this time she could see that it was from arousal rather than embarrassment. She took a moment to take it all in. He was back, she knew that he wanted her, but she was in control.

He belonged to her.

She brought her hands down and grabbed his swim trunks, which made him tense up, but her smile widened at the bulge she saw there. She prepared to move her hands down, planning to tease him by gradually inching them down.

But Yukki abruptly gripped her wrists and stopped her.

"Yukki?" She looked at him, why was he stopping her?

"Not-not right now." He looked to the side, refusing to meet her eyes.

Was he trying to be coy? Then why wouldn't he look at her? "But-

"Not. Now." He turned his eyes to finally met her gaze, but it was to glare at her.

Why? Had she done something wrong? But it had been going so well! They'd both wanted it, she'd seen it for herself!

He let go of his wrists and got up, almost roughly pushing her off of him. Was he angry at her?

"Yukki, did I do something?" she asked. "If I did, I'm sorry."

He paused before answering in a gentler tone. "It's not that, I just . . . can't do that right now."

"I'm sorry," he added sincerely. "Let's go now."

Yukki started packing up, but as he did he still didn't meet her gaze.


	23. Chapter 23: The End

**The End**

 **Author's Note:**

 **So this is it. I'm sorry, but I'm ending it here. I'd originally planned to have this go on for a while longer, but that's not going to happen. I'm barely updating as it is, and I frankly don't have much of a desire to continue this. Besides, this seems like a reasonable place to end things. Yuki and Yuno preparing for their future lives, and while there are still some loose ends, I've done my best to deal with them properly in the outline you'll see below.**

 **I've left a summary of my outline and plans for this fic in case you want to read it, but before that let me explain something.**

 **The reason I wrote this fic was because I pitied Yuno, I wanted her to have a happy ending and describe it. At first, this fic was just meant to be fluff, all happiness and joy between her and Yuki. But there's no way to write an actual story without any conflict. So I added it in with Murmur One and reasonable issues between Yuno and Yuki.**

 **Honestly, I'm sure I did so rather clumsily, since I didn't have much of a plan and was just writing what I wanted. But I'd like to think I didn't do too badly, but I wouldn't want to go back and reread my fic. What I may have thought was fine will probably turn out to be full of mistakes I could have easily fixed.**

 **I'd actually learned my lesson quite early on and started to plot out what I wanted in more detail. But even before then my enthusiasm for writing started to run out, if you've been here long enough (or look at early author's notes) you'll know that I used to update weekly. And you also probably realize that I wasn't able to maintain that output. Writing didn't really become less fun, I still enjoyed it when I did so. But forcing myself to write was the hard part, for some reason I couldn't motivate myself to take the time to write anymore. I fought it for a while, but I've lost.**

 **Again, I'm sorry, but I've done one of the things I most hate about fanfiction. Writing one that others enjoy and just abandoning it. Sometimes without even an explanation. I hate that I've done this, and next time I'll make sure that I have the proper planning and motivation beforehand.**

 **So, without further ado, here's what the rest of the story would have been.**

* * *

 **The two come back from their date, and the mood is rather tense between them. Which the Murmurs sense. Yuno's curious about his strange behavior, but he says he has to prepare for life with his family, and that he'll tell her later.**

 **Murmur Two is especially confused since the two of them had seemed to be enjoying themselves. So she takes Yuno aside and learns that Yuki had clammed up after she'd tried getting more intimate with him. Neither of them really know what went wrong.**

 **Meanwhile, Murmur Three is helping Yuki absorb some of the memories from his third world self. It hadn't been easy to extract the memories from the body, but with those and the surveillance that she and Deus had on this world's Yuki, he should be fine.**

 **It's a strange experience, and hard to describe. He still stays as himself, a few years in this world wouldn't overpower the many he'd spent in the second world. But he has these new memories of his parents and friends.**

 **After taking some time to adjust to them, he asks Murmur Three to tell Yuno that he'll be at his parents' house. He'll come back later, but he doesn't want to be disturbed.**

 **It's difficult, seeing them again and hiding his true reaction. He hadn't been with them in so long . . . and they'd met horrible fates in the last world. Despite his best efforts, they notice that he's nervous around them and ask him about his behavior.**

 **He tells them that nothing's wrong, he loves them, but goes up to his room.**

 **Later that night, Yuki picks up Yuno at her house and they leave to the Cathedral. She repeats her question from earlier in the day, and asks what she did wrong.**

 **Nothing! He immediately replies that it was his fault for ruining it, and she picks up on the fact that he doesn't want to talk about it. Even so, her curiosity is hard to suppress, and asking further just results in him trying to change the subject.**

 **He** _ **does**_ **have something important to tell her apparently, and it's about him living in the third world. He needs her to do something for him.**

 **When Yuki has his first day at school in the third world, he's excited and enthusiastic to make new friends. But that attitude soon dries up when he talks with the ones his third world self had made. But there's something wrong, and it's the same with most of the other students. They're too immature. Which should be expected, he's incredibly old, and even before becoming a god he'd been forced to mature during the survival game.**

 **Yuno introducing him to Kohsaka, Hinata, and Mao helps. Not to mention he can actually be friends with Akise, since he's aware of his true nature, and the boy is rather mature himself. Still he wants to make his own friends, ones who aren't friends with Yuno too.**

 **Even so, throughout the day, Yuki is surprised by how much it bothers him that he's unable to make friends with most of the other students. Until he meets a dark-haired girl named Ayo, who strangely doesn't mention her family name. (I gave her a Japanese sounding version of the name Io, who was a human woman who attracted Zeus. The connection between that and Yukiteru/Jupiter should be obvious.) She's surprisingly mature and insightful considering she's the same age as everyone else. Over time, he learns that she has a hobby for drawing, usually portraits of people that she finds in books or the Internet. She's also rather skilled at video games, often coming over to his house to play with him and regularly beat him.**

 **His closeness with the girl predictably upsets Yuno. However, there's more to it. For now, she's agreed to act as if she and Yuki are just friends in the third world. It would be suspicious and strange if he got over Moe's death so quickly and found another girlfriend. While Yuno acknowledges the necessity of the ruse, that doesn't mean she likes it. And she certainly won't stand by and let someone else take him.**

 **Yuki convinces Yuno to be nice, and she reluctantly agrees to be. She's aware that his experience of her insane counterpart is still affecting their relationship, and she wants him to be happy. However, she still needs reassurance from him that he'll only ever be in love with her, and he promises it.**

 **Back home, Yuki's relationship with his parents is awkward. While they don't really suspect him, he doesn't like that he has to lie and hide how grateful he is to them and how much he loves them. Any offhand comment that he's acting strangely sets him on edge, and it takes time to get accustomed to this life.**

 **Yuki also meets with Makamo Yora, the psychologist who'd spoken with him when his third world self had been captured. Yuki took some of the memories of his other self so he can fool most people rather convincingly, and even fools Yora for a while. However, Yora notices that some things don't add up, Yuki doesn't seem very upset over Wakaba Moe's death, and also seems to be strangely distant with his previous friends when he had been very close with them before. Not to mention sudden, yet more subtle personality shifts such as becoming more mature and proactive about situations rather than complaining about them.**

 **In a few weeks' time, Yuki has to reveal to Yora about his nature. Nishijima, who is also Yora's friend, and Minene also arrive to help confirm and convince Yora that it's the truth. After accepting it, he also learns about the survival game in the previous world. And Yuno, the insane girl who'd chased after him through multiple worlds and sacrificed her own life for his.**

 **In fact, Yuno is a major reason for Yuki's decision to reveal himself to Yora. Yuki and Yuno revealed their relationship to their friends not very long ago, but . . . things aren't going perfectly. He wants to ask him for help on what to do. She clings to him fiercely, and whenever he says he wants space she finds ways to twist his words and tries to guilt him into being with her. They've also been having fights, Yuno's jealousy of Yuki's friend (Ayo, but Yuki doesn't mention her name to the psychologist) causes her to constantly want to keep tabs on him, but he wants his privacy too. At one point, Yuki yelled back at her in anger, things he shouldn't have, saying she's acting like a possessive bitch. In fact, they haven't yet made up over that. What should he do?**

 **First, Yora tells him that he didn't study psychology for years to give teenagers relationship advice. But his smile reveals his attempt to lighten the mood, as he can tell that this girl is very important to Yuki. However, it's worrying, the girl sounds dangerous and, even if Yuki thinks it's excessive, "possessive" seems quite accurate to the more objective Yora.**

 **Frankly, the best solution would probably to break up with this girl. Yora suggests it, but Yuki argues vehemently against it. He loves Yuno, and he's known what she's like since the beginning of their relationship in the third world. He makes excuses for her behavior, they have happy memories together, they're meant for each other.**

 **Yora's a bit surprised by Yuki's outburst, and thinks to himself that Yuno isn't the only obsessive one between them. Yuki would have had to feel very strongly to have spent such a long time mourning her death. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's love, or that it's healthy. However, Yora realizes that Yuno is a god as well, and Yuki might not be able to break up with her or cut her out of his life even if he wanted to.**

 **Yora agrees to help him, and asks to bring her here. He wants to meet a person before he gives judgements on how to treat them, and he could also have them discuss their issues with each other and make sure they have a calm talk rather than start arguing.**

 **Yuki follows the advice, and the next day, it's a continuation of what it's been like since their fight. Yuno follows him around, but doesn't speak to him at all. Their friends have noticed, but are glared at by Yuno when they mention it. Per usual, when Yuki talks with Ayo, Yuno leaves, but makes sure to pay attention to Yuki, but does it discreetly as it angered him the first time when she'd been more obvious.**

 **She knows now to talk to other people when he's with his** _ **friend**_ **. It pisses her off, that some girl has butt in and is ruining their relationship. But Ayo's not the only one at fault, the way Yukki's treating her is unacceptable! Did it mean nothing to him that she'd given up her life for him? Sacrificed herself and suffered through so much just be with him? Apparently not, since he wants to spend so time with that random girl** **instead!**

 **Yuno believes that she deserves better, specifically with priority over Yuki's time. She rationalizes her thoughts by claiming that he owes her for all that she's done. Protecting him and helping him during the survival game. Searching for him desperately when Murmur One took him. She's gone through a lot for him, and thinks that it's only right for him to spend as much time with her as she wants.**

 **It's a surprise to her when he confronts her after school. It's tense and there's anger on both sides, along with some veiled insults between them. But Yuki manages to convince her to come with him because they still want to be together.**

 **So they meet with Yora, who starts off by interviewing Yuno for a bit. Which is frankly quite worrying, as he sees how twisted she is. He'd honestly feel a lot safer if he were talking to her through a barrier. As expected, she's obsessed with Yuki, and it doesn't take his psychology degree to nail down the reasons why. The memories of her dead parents and Yuki offering her a meaning in life, but that's also reinforced by the vaguer feelings of longing for him and displacement in this world.**

 **It's frightening, because as far as he can tell there's no hesitation to do what's necessary to keep her boyfriend safe. Yora knows she's killed before, and doubts she'd bat an eye over killing him if he were to get in her way.**

 **He treads carefully, because he doesn't know the extent of her divine powers. Leaving her alone isn't an option, since who knew what harm she would cause to others? Yet Yora inwardly sighs as he realizes that he basically needs to fix these two teenagers' relationship or there may be bodies piling up soon.**

 **So he involves both of them in a discussion to try and solve their issues. First, he starts off with Yuki, asking that Yuno not interrupt while he asks him to tell them what he finds to be the problems with their relationship. Yuki also needs to be honest, no sugarcoating what he has to say.**

 **Yuki takes a deep breath, and lists them. Frankly, he wants to spend time with his friend. Who's name he doesn't mention because Yora wants to maintain their friends' privacy. It's a girl, and he enjoys her company. He stresses that he does** _ **not**_ **have any romantic feelings for his friend, and that he can't really connect with anyone else their own age except Akise. Who he also doesn't name but points out in a way that makes it obvious to Yuno.**

 **There's his family as well, he wants to reconnect with them and adapt to all their differences from his second world parents. They're important to him, and before Yuno had even encouraged him to be happy and try to be with them. Even though he'd been against it at first. Now it seems like she wants the opposite and wants him all to herself.**

 **Which leads to another point, and this is the hardest for Yuki to admit, but Yuno's too clingy. She has been ever since he came to this world, and she needs to give him space. She also needs to understand that wanting that doesn't mean he loves her any less. He loves being with her, but he also needs to be alone sometimes.**

 **When he's finished, Yora prompts Yuno to give her thoughts on their relationship. Reminding Yuki to respect the rule of not interrupting, because Yuno had done so. Even if her expressions make it obvious that she'd wanted to.**

 **So she begins, Yuno understands that friendship is important to Yuki. SYet she just can't trust the girl he's become friends with. She doesn't know her and Yuno thinks her own friends (such as Hinata and Mao) who she can trust would have been much better choices for him.**

 **Also, he's neglecting her. That's right, neglecting her. Why can't things go back to the way they were before? The summer months she spent with him were among the happiest in her life, and that was only possible because they were so close to each other then. No matter what he says, his claims of her being clingy just make her think he doesn't want her. Not to mention the unsaid implications that she hasn't changed from the way she was before.**

 **Does he think nothing of what she's done for him? All that she went through to keep him safe during the survival game and her ultimate sacrifice? The years she'd spent in this world with heartache without knowing why? She just wants to be with him, and since they love each other she knows he wants the same? Why does he want to push her away?**

 **She's done, and she wants to know Yuki's answer. But before he can, Yora gently interjects with his own thoughts on the matter. He's been happily married for about twenty years, and he knows quite a bit about maintaining a healthy relationship. So he thinks he should give some advice.**

 **What Yuno just did is wrong. Even if she didn't mean to, since they were her honest feelings, she tried to guilt Yuki into complying with her selfishness. A healthy relationship can't consist of one person trying to make their partner do what they want because they owe it to them. Even if it were true, it would only breed resentment and eventual contempt between them. Yuki shouldn't spend time with her because of what she's done for him, he should because he wants to. They have to respect each other's desires.**

 **Yuno . . . had never considered that, and asks Yuki if what Yora is saying is true.**

 **He's quick to say otherwise, it's not as bad as Yora is making it seem. It's somewhat true though, she does that sometimes, but it's not her fault! She doesn't know it, and he forgives her.**

 **Yora adds that Yuki should ask for some forgiveness as well. He's not innocent either, it sounds like he** _ **has**_ **been neglecting Yuno. Friends and family are important, but so is a significant other. The psychologist recommends that at the very least they should take a few hours a week to spend time together, a designated date night of sorts. In fact, they don't have to actually go on a date, sitting by each other would be fine.**

 **It's been a few hours, and Yora has to go. But before he does, he adds that the two of them should remember this for when they need to deal with their issues by themselves. Communicate clearly, and don't interrupt each other. Don't let it get too heated either, or they'll say something they regret and end up hurting each other.**

 **Lastly, he jokingly adds that they're teenagers after all, they should be curiously exploring each other's bodies, and it's not a terrible way to make up after a fight.**

 **Which brings to mind a whole other issue with Yuki's decline in intimacy with Yuno, but neither of them mention it.**

 **This has been good for them. While the mood isn't as light as it had been at the start of their relationship in this world, it's no longer as if they'll erupt into arguments when one of them speaks. They even agree to sleep in the same bed at the Cathedral tonight, since they haven't done so since their latest big fight.**

 **That night, when they go to the Cathedral they're able to laugh and smile in each other's company. It's comfortable being with each other again, and they can talk. In fact, Yuno even brings up what Yora said at the end of their meeting, and says that they should try it. However, the furthest they go that night is kissing and caressing each other. Yuki isn't comfortable with more, and Yuno doesn't push the issue. It's unfortunate, but the last time she'd been so excited about kissing him was when he'd first come to the third world. It's wonderful to be able to be close with him again.**

 **For the next few months, they work together with Yora and Murmur Two. It'll take longer than that to fix Yuno's jealousy of his friend and her desire for closeness, but they're compromising and making their love for each other stronger. Not necessarily in the sense of feeling more strongly for the other, but making their feelings more resilient and able to handle disagreements.**

 **Ayo is still a topic of contention between them, but Yuno is less against the idea of Yuki spending time with his friend. It's not easy though, Yuno still dislikes and distrusts the girl, but trusts that Yuki only loves her.**

 **It helps that he** _ **does**_ **have a particularly good way of showing it too.**

 **They're teenagers, and sex is new and fun. However, Yuki nearly being raped by the other Yuno doesn't make it easy, but they work through it together. As bad as it sounds, it makes it easier for Yuki if he doesn't see her face over him while they do it. Yuno accepts that, although it's hurtful news, and tries various things to work around it.**

 **At first, she uses her hands and mouth. She also makes sure to ask him what he wants her to do, or places his hands on top of her head when her mouth is . . . otherwise occupied. It's important that he not feel helpless or not in control, and eventually they may warm their way back up to regular sex.**

 **In the meantime, Yuki thinks it's only fair that he reciprocate her kindness. So he goes down on her and learns how to use his fingers and mouth as well. Which Yuno very much appreciates.**

 **There are still fights of course. Sometimes there are disagreements over the necessity of having a "date night" every week, since they still spend time together otherwise. Sometimes promises aren't kept, and they lie to each other about where they're going. Murmur Two is also vital in acting as a mediator between the two, since Yora isn't easily available, and she has a personal reason for wanting them to work it out with each other.**

 **Concerning the psychologist, he also helps Yuno out with her other issues. The abuse she went through by her parents has effects besides just hurting her and Yuki's relationship. Especially when she simultaneously remembers accidentally killing them and having a loving family for the past two years.**

 **She also killed her other self with a hatchet, and lived through a hell of fighting for her life and chasing after Yuki. There are mental scars that'll remain for years, and she'll need support from Yora and Yuki. Since she can't tell anyone else about them.**

 **It's a difficult, but fulfilling time. It's a lot more work than either of them had expected, but it's more than worth it to Yuno and Yuki. They're grateful to Yora, and marvel at how lucky they were to have his help. Otherwise they never would have been as strong together, maybe their love really** _ **is**_ **fate.**

 **Even so, there are still challenges, and this time it's external. Ayo has developed feelings for Yuki. She doesn't have many friends either, and she appreciates Yuki spending time with her. There are a variety of reasons why she's attracted to him, he's more mature than most other guys, but there's something else.**

 **When she first met him, she doubted that she would ever have felt this way about him. He lacked self-confidence and caved in too often to what Yuno wanted. There were hints of self-loathing and he wasn't the most well-spoken of people, he'd sometimes stutter or act awkwardly. He** _ **did**_ **make for an interesting friend, but a boyfriend? Never.**

 **But things have changed. She admires how hard he's worked to improve himself and his relationship with Yuno. He stood up to his girlfriend, and the air of self-deprecation around himself had disappeared. Not to mention that she also likes that he's not embarrassed to show his love for his family.**

 **Eventually, she confesses to Yuki. He doesn't respond the way she'd like, and even though she doesn't particularly like Yuno, she would still feel guilty if she stolen her boyfriend. It's upsetting, but she can accept his answer. However, for now she'd like some space between the two of them. It hurts to see him and Yuno, since they're so close to one another.**

 **When Yuno first learns about this from Yukki, it seems like her worst fears are realized. While she's more secure with his love for her, he seems to have a kind of connection with Ayo that Yuno can't. For a moment, her old instincts flare up and she considers how to get rid of her. Not kill her, that's too extreme, just find a way to keep her away.**

 **But Yuno quickly snaps herself out of thinking that way, and focuses more on comforting Yukki, who's bothered by the fact that his friendship with Ayo has possibly been ruined.**

 **In fact, upon further reflection, Yuno realizes how wonderful this scenario actually is. Yukki loves** _ **her**_ **! Yuno's closeness with Yukki is to such a greater extent that Ayo doesn't even stand a chance. This is a perfect chance for Yuno to end their friendship forever and keep Yukki hers!**

 **For the next few days, Yuno doesn't even have to do much. Since Yuki is respecting Ayo's wishes and keeping his distance. Yuno also can't help but gloat and subtly provoke Ayo, pushing the girl into a fury and even further away. While Yuki misunderstands and thinks she's distancing herself because seeing him with Yuno is reminding the girl of what she can't have.**

 **A few days turn into weeks, and Yuno couldn't be happier. Everything is seemingly going well between her and Yukki. Their sessions with Makamo are less frequent due to their progress, and they've never been closer.**

 **However, she does notice that he still misses his friend. While he does hang out with Akise and sometimes comes along to meet Yuno's friends, she sees that he doesn't really play video games as much as he used to. And sometimes he goes to the park or classrooms he and Ayo used to talk in and just sit there. Strangely, Ayo had never brought him to her house, saying that she'd prefer it if he didn't go there. So he doesn't know where she lives.**

 **Yuno tries to fill the void for him, but as before she can't provide what he needs. While she does fill the most important place in his heart, he needs someone he can relax more easily with. Someone he can talk with that treats him as a friend rather than a lover. Akise's helpful, but for some reason Yuki doesn't seem to connect with the other boy the same way he did with Ayo.**

 **It takes time, but Yuno speaks with Murmur Two and even Yora. Murmur Two says plain and simple that Yuno should do what's best for Yuki and get him his friend back. Her frankness and implicit accusation of Yuno's selfishness infuriates her, it even makes her think that Yukki might as well get better friends who won't get in her way. But for some reason it's not as easy for her to accept as she'd thought, even though it should make perfect sense to her.**

 **A conversation with Yora is more enlightening. First off, he congratulates her on the progress she's made and the space she's given Yuki. Rather than accusing her of selfishness, he asks whether it's right for her to be so happy when Yuki isn't, and not doing what's needed to help. It's a big step, he knows, and most people would be uncomfortable with allowing someone who has feelings for their significant other to be so close to him. Yet she has to ask herself whether she trusts Yuki, and if she can't, how will that seed of distrust affect the rest of their relationship?**

 **It's a difficult choice, and one Yuno realizes may set the bar for her future behavior. Does she trust Yukki? Yes. Does she want Yukki to be happy? Yes, and so the choice is clear, but making it is daunting.**

 **That night, she's craves closeness with him more than she has been in a while. She's not searching for sexual satisfaction, just physical intimacy. She knows that at times she takes it a bit far, and has been holding herself back, but she needs it right now. Holding hands, hugging, or just leaning against him. When they sleep, she asks that he tell her that he loves her. She needs to hear it.**

 **When he does so, confused by a seeming return of her insecurity, he tells her that he'll always love her. However, she tightly grasps his hand and asks that from now on he leave out the "always".**

 **She'll always treasure his love and she doesn't want to ever take it for granted. Yuki's not sure what to make of it, but repeats that he loves her, and kisses her. Which helps forge Yuno's resolve.**

 **The next day, she goes to confront Ayo alone. She's nervous, her throat is dry and her heart is pounding. It's expected that Yukki's friend would hate her, after all, she's his girlfriend and the one who wanted to push them apart. And . . . gloated when it happened.**

 **Yuno doesn't really care what the girl thinks of her, but her past behavior will make it harder to get Ayo to reconcile with Yukki. Still, she eventually finds her afterschool and accepts the smoldering glare from the girl.**

 **She explains what she wants, for her to be Yukki's friend again. Which Ayo sneers at, could a jealous, clingy girlfriend like Yuno handle that?**

 **Yuno bristles at that, but continues nonetheless. Please, she'll apologize, she'll admit she was wrong. Just get back together with Yukki, he needs her friendship. Yuno even lowers her head, bowing slightly when asking her.**

 **Ayo's stunned by this, she'd thought that Yuno would never have been the type to do this. For whatever reason, the girl has a frighteningly intense attachment to Amano. She's jealous and overbearing, and her bitchy showing off her closeness with Yukki just goes to show how great she is personality-wise.**

 **Ayo tells her that she'd never thought Yuno would be the person to ask something like this. Although her dad would never share details of his patients, she's known that he'd been working with Yuki and Yuno.**

 **Ayo's full name is Makamo Ayo, and her dad is Makamo Yora. She didn't want Yuki to avoid her since she's the daughter of the man who was psychoanalyzing him and his girlfriend, since she doesn't even know anything specific about what he's helping them with.**

 **However, she's picked up a few things from him on psychology, his lectures to her would make it hard not to. She's formed her own opinion of Yuno and she's surprised that the girl would ask this of her.**

 **But she's impressed as well, she agrees to be friends with him again. It's been long enough for Ayo to be able to come to term with her feelings about Amano. Although she would like it if Yuno stopped rubbing in the fact that she's his girlfriend.**

 **Yuno says she won't anymore, and that she hopes that Yukki and her will be able to become good friends again.**

 **Later that day, Yuno goes home, rather than to the Cathedral with Yukki. He's a bit surprised by her doing so, and is pleased by the fact that she's being more independent.**

 **It's not independence though, it's an action that Yuno forces herself to take. She wants to hold onto Yukki and never let him go, to beg him to only love her and ignore Ayo. It's so hard, so ridiculously hard to just sit back and let the girl be friends with him again. Yuno knows she wouldn't be able to control herself if she were with him right now.**

 **Still, she thinks to herself that she should be allowed to indulge herself. After all, she just allowed another girl who liked Yukki to get closer to him, she** _ **should**_ **try to be with him as much as possible before he's taken from her.**

 **In fact, what was she thinking?! Letting them be friends again, how could she allow something like that?!**

 **No! She has to remember why she did it. It's for Yukki's happiness, and to prove to herself that she can handle this, that their love is strong enough to endure it.**

 **Their love . . . she can't help but wonder how strong it actually is. It's been a long time since the survival game, which had brought them together, but it had also resulted in so much pain and suffering.**

 **She remembers that they told each other that it didn't matter how their love had started as long as they truly loved each other. It was easy to think that then, or maybe it was so easy to accept that because she wanted so badly for it to be true.**

 **Because she can't help but realize now how messed up it is. To have started feelings for someone because she'd clung to them after her parents' deaths, and he'd clung to her because he needed her to survive. Could a loving relationship really be built from that base?**

 **It scares her to think that it might not be possible. She wants someone, anyone to tell her that their love can work out and that it'll all be fine. But she's so frightened of what Yukki's friendship with Ayo might entail, and Yuno realizes how paranoid and crazy these thoughts would look to anyone else.**

 **Why? Why can't a love between her and Yukki just work? There's no one and nothing else to blame for the issues, no survival game, no fake Yuno. She wants to blame Ayo, but the accusations seem excessive even to Yuno. No, there's no one to blame but herself. The crazy girl who'd killed people to chase down her boyfriend.**

 **Yukki, he didn't deserve someone like her. Someone who just made problems for him and . . . clings to him. He deserves someone better.**

 **Even so, Yuno can't stop herself from wanting to be with him. To be the person he most treasures. Even if he would be happier with someone else, she hates herself because she knows that she would still choose to be with him.**

 **She sleeps little that night, wishing that Yukki were with her, but maintaining her resolve.**

 **The next day is a difficult one. When she meets with Yukki, she acts completely normal even though her nerves are raw and she can barely keep up the innocent smile. The whole day she's unable to relax, every time she sees Ayo is a painful reminder of what's to come. Her friends notice her behavior, but her frank denial of anything being wrong doesn't give them any opportunity to help. So Yuno just waits.**

 **The moment arrives, later that day, when Yuno and Yukki are about to leave, Ayo approaches him and wants to talk. Yukki's a bit surprised when Yuno just says that she'll be waiting, although even he can see how she's straining herself.**

 **Yuno wants to look away, but can't help peeking at them from the corner of her eye. She feels nauseous watching them, and has to use all her self-control to keep her feet on the ground. It helps to think of how happy Yukki is, she just has to ignore the reason for it. Remember, this is for him, she can do this.**

 **He comes back in a good mood, which Yuno is conflicted over. He tells her about what Ayo had spoken to him about, being friends again and how the girl had dealt with her own feelings. He's glad to be able to hang out with her again, it's been really awkward around her.**

 **Yukki pauses in his excitement, and says that he and Yuno should go to the Cathedral. Holding her hand as they walk, even that's not enough to make her feel better about her decision. She can't shake the thought that this could be a huge mistake and lead to their separation.**

 **Once there, they greet the Murmurs, and Yukki asks that they not disturb him and Yuno. When asked why, he says that he needs to discuss something with her. So they go to the bedroom, and he asks her:**

 **Is she okay with him and Ayo being friends again considering the girl has feelings for him?**

 **Yes, she answers. But her wavering tone and pained expression make it obvious that she's not. Even so, Yuno adds that Yukki should have friends that make him happy.**

 **She's stunned when he wraps his arms around her tightly, and thanks her. Ayo told him what Yuno had done, and he'd been so surprised that he'd just had to make sure. He loves her, and he's incredibly lucky to have such a great girlfriend.**

 **She bursts into tears at that. She's** _ **not**_ **a great girlfriend she tells him, she's selfish and clingy. She doesn't think often enough about his wishes and he has no idea how difficult it was for her to make up her mind to do the right thing by getting Ayo to be his friend again. She's crazy, he should know that fact the best out of everyone.**

 **She's babbling, and it's difficult for Yuki to understand her. He doesn't know how to help, but does his best and stays by her until she calms down. He laughs good-naturedly while he brings tissues to clean the mess on her face, but adds that she's wrong. She's a wonderful girlfriend and he's happy to be with her, and what she's done for him has pretty much disproved all the faults she just claimed about herself.**

 **He thinks to himself that he'd been so busy agonizing over his own faults that he hadn't noticed that Yuno was suffering from her own self-esteem issues. What a great boyfriend he'd been, he thinks, dripping with sarcasm.**

 **He offers her anything, since he wants to make her feel better and thank her for getting his friend back. So . . . she asks that they stay in the Cathedral until morning, and she wants to be able to hug and hold him as much as possible. But, he has to tell her if he doesn't want her to and it's too much.**

 **It's a strange request, but one that he readily agrees to. Which she happily starts off with hugging him. He realizes that she seems to be restraining herself though, her grip is light, as if she's ready to let go at a moment's notice. When he gets up, she's quick to let go, but keeps her hand clasped in his.**

 **After a few minutes, she gets more relaxed and she's more confident in his permission for her to be physically intimate. She respects his boundaries of course, letting go whenever he needs to do something private such as talk to his parents about staying somewhere else for the night. But she's eager to contentedly nestle her head in his chest.**

 **It's nice, and although he'd complained about her clinginess before, this doesn't bother him in the slightest. Maybe it's because she herself realized it and is respecting his wishes, since there's only a little hesitation when he asks for a bit a space every now and then. Still, he can't help but want to indulge her after what she's done for him, and how conflicted she is over it.**

 **Later, as they relax on the couch, he can't hold back a grin as he sees how adorable she is, and strokes her hair. Enjoying the sounds of satisfaction she makes as he runs his hand over her head. And they lay there in silence, just basking in each other's presence.**

 **That night, they still haven't eased off on the physical intimacy. Although by now they've become somewhat accustomed to it, or at least that's what Yuki thinks. Whether on purpose or not, she's stirring a reaction in his lower body. He notices how her sleepwear reveals a lot of her chest and legs, and however there are fewer layers between them whenever she presses up against him.**

 **Yuno notices his unease, and assumes that he's had enough and wants her to make some distance between the two of them. When she shuffles away, she rubs up against him and notices his stiffness.**

 **She's surprised, but eager as she asks whether he wants her to deal with it for him. He agrees, with an embarrassed blush, and she takes out his hard member. She first uses her hands to stroke it, and brings her lips to his.**

 **But instead of finishing him off that way, which had been their routine for the past few weeks, she instead removes her own clothes. She looks into his eyes for approval, since she's uncertain whether he wants to go this far yet.**

 **She suggests that if . . . if he wants, he can try it from behind. That way he won't have to look at her face if it reminds him too much of what happened.**

 **His eyes soften, and he says no. He wants to look at her when they make love again.**

 **So she lies down on her back with her heart racing in anticipation, ready for the conventional position with him on top. This position is probably best, she has a feeling it might take some time for him to be comfortable with her on top.**

 **He kisses her, and plants his lips on her neck and chest. Even suckling on her nipples. But that's nothing compared to when he brings his lips down to her lower lips, he's gotten pretty good after these past few months. She can barely hold back her moans and squirms from his skilled tongue.**

 **Still, that's not what she wants. She wants him inside of her, since it's a safe day, she won't get pregnant. Besides, they could use their god powers to prevent her from getting pregnant even if it was more risky.**

 **When he enters her, it's shocking at first, since it's been a while. However, she quickly adjusts to it. The heat from it and the feeling of having it inside her are indescribable. This is as close as they can possibly be, proof that they love each other. While she does savor the physical pleasure, it pales in comparison to the joy she feels at finally becoming one with Yukki again. Their heartbeats seem to meld together into one, and their breathing seem to match. And the sounds he makes almost seem like music to her ears.**

 **It doesn't take long for him to finish. She doesn't, but it was still amazing. She's still giddy from the fact that they'd actually done it. It was well worth it.**

 **They clean up, and the more casual comfort they have in each other delights her. It might be too soon to say, but she thinks he's recovered from the near rape that he'd experienced. When they're finished, he falls asleep almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. Yuno, on the other hand, is more alert.**

 **As she watches Yukki's even breathing and his adorable sleeping state, she dispels her doubts. Sure, it hadn't been easy getting to this point, and there would probably be a lot more work for the two of them. The basis of their love was shaky, but it could be improved and strengthened.**

 **Times like these were the reason why the effort was worth it. Not the sex, that was a bonus. She meant the happiness that she'd felt for the past few hours when spending half the day with him. Accepting and loving each other even for their faults and helping each other work through them. She'd needed him and he'd sensed that, probably also rewarding her for getting his friend back.**

 **No matter what, they'd get through anything. As long as they were together.  
**

* * *

 **Final Note: So yeah, that's it, what I'd planned to write for the rest of the fic. I'd also intended to add some fluff such as a wedding or marriage between the two of them, but I decided against it. Who knows, maybe someday I'll come back and add some.**

 **For those of you who've made it this far, thank you for reading. I hope that now, at the very least, those of you who haven't left a review will do so now with your thoughts and opinion on my fic and how you think I could have improved it.**


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